This study examined the development of social cognition in children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as well as the influence of behavioral and molecular genetics on these higher-order cognitive abilities. Specifically, it was hypothesized that children with ASD would perform more poorly on all social cognitive tasks compared with typically developing peers. In addition, it was hypothesized that typically developing children who performed better on a simpler social cognitive task at ages 3 or 4 would perform better at follow-up (i.e., one time between the ages of 6-10). Lastly, it was hypothesized that children who had at least one risk allele in both the DRD4 and the 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms would perform worse than those who had at least one risk allele in either polymorphism, who, in turn, would perform worse than children without any risk alleles. The twin sample included 62 families of multiples (twins, triplets, or quadruplets) who were recruited through the Southern Illinois Twins and Siblings Study (SITSS), and the ASD sample included 25 children who were recruited from the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at SIU. Significant group differences were found for children's performance on all of the social cognitive tasks. Furthermore, results showed that some areas of social cognition (theory of mind and the understanding of non-literal language) are more influenced by genetic factors than are other cognitive skills. Lastly, results from the molecular genetic analyses suggest that basic social cognitive skills (e.g., theory of mind) may be influenced by underlying biological factors in the serotonergic and dopaminergic pathways. The present study provided useful information on how psychological and genetic factors influence the development of social cognitive abilities in children with and without ASD.
","abstract_html":"<p>This study examined the development of social cognition in children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as well as the influence of behavioral and molecular genetics on these higher-order cognitive abilities. Specifically, it was hypothesized that children with ASD would perform more poorly on all social cognitive tasks compared with typically developing peers. In addition, it was hypothesized that typically developing children who performed better on a simpler social cognitive task at ages 3 or 4 would perform better at follow-up (i.e., one time between the ages of 6-10). Lastly, it was hypothesized that children who had at least one risk allele in both the DRD4 and the 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms would perform worse than those who had at least one risk allele in either polymorphism, who, in turn, would perform worse than children without any risk alleles. The twin sample included 62 families of multiples (twins, triplets, or quadruplets) who were recruited through the Southern Illinois Twins and Siblings Study (SITSS), and the ASD sample included 25 children who were recruited from the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at SIU. Significant group differences were found for children's performance on all of the social cognitive tasks. Furthermore, results showed that some areas of social cognition (theory of mind and the understanding of non-literal language) are more influenced by genetic factors than are other cognitive skills. Lastly, results from the molecular genetic analyses suggest that basic social cognitive skills (e.g., theory of mind) may be influenced by underlying biological factors in the serotonergic and dopaminergic pathways. The present study provided useful information on how psychological and genetic factors influence the development of social cognitive abilities in children with and without ASD.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Klaver, Jacqueline Marie"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"Open Access Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["DiLalla, Lisabeth"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-12-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-12-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:34:36Z","subjects":["Autism spectrum disorder","Children","Genetics","Social cognition","Theory of mind","Twins"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/dissertations/957","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["DiLalla, Lisabeth"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Klaver, Jacqueline Marie"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-12-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Autism spectrum disorder","Children","Genetics","Social cognition","Theory of mind","Twins"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/dissertations/957"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This study examined the development of social cognition in children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as well as the influence of behavioral and molecular genetics on these higher-order cognitive abilities. Specifically, it was hypothesized that children with ASD would perform more poorly on all social cognitive tasks compared with typically developing peers. In addition, it was hypothesized that typically developing children who performed better on a simpler social cognitive task at ages 3 or 4 would perform better at follow-up (i.e., one time between the ages of 6-10). Lastly, it was hypothesized that children who had at least one risk allele in both the DRD4 and the 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms would perform worse than those who had at least one risk allele in either polymorphism, who, in turn, would perform worse than children without any risk alleles. The twin sample included 62 families of multiples (twins, triplets, or quadruplets) who were recruited through the Southern Illinois Twins and Siblings Study (SITSS), and the ASD sample included 25 children who were recruited from the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at SIU. Significant group differences were found for children's performance on all of the social cognitive tasks. Furthermore, results showed that some areas of social cognition (theory of mind and the understanding of non-literal language) are more influenced by genetic factors than are other cognitive skills. Lastly, results from the molecular genetic analyses suggest that basic social cognitive skills (e.g., theory of mind) may be influenced by underlying biological factors in the serotonergic and dopaminergic pathways. The present study provided useful information on how psychological and genetic factors influence the development of social cognitive abilities in children with and without ASD.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Psychological and Genetic Contributions to the Development of Social Cognition in Children"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["DiLalla, Lisabeth"],"dc:creator":["Klaver, Jacqueline Marie"],"dc:date.available":["2014-12-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This study examined the development of social cognition in children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as well as the influence of behavioral and molecular genetics on these higher-order cognitive abilities. Specifically, it was hypothesized that children with ASD would perform more poorly on all social cognitive tasks compared with typically developing peers. In addition, it was hypothesized that typically developing children who performed better on a simpler social cognitive task at ages 3 or 4 would perform better at follow-up (i.e., one time between the ages of 6-10). Lastly, it was hypothesized that children who had at least one risk allele in both the DRD4 and the 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms would perform worse than those who had at least one risk allele in either polymorphism, who, in turn, would perform worse than children without any risk alleles. The twin sample included 62 families of multiples (twins, triplets, or quadruplets) who were recruited through the Southern Illinois Twins and Siblings Study (SITSS), and the ASD sample included 25 children who were recruited from the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at SIU. Significant group differences were found for children's performance on all of the social cognitive tasks. Furthermore, results showed that some areas of social cognition (theory of mind and the understanding of non-literal language) are more influenced by genetic factors than are other cognitive skills. Lastly, results from the molecular genetic analyses suggest that basic social cognitive skills (e.g., theory of mind) may be influenced by underlying biological factors in the serotonergic and dopaminergic pathways. The present study provided useful information on how psychological and genetic factors influence the development of social cognitive abilities in children with and without ASD.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/dissertations/957"],"dc:subject":["Autism spectrum disorder","Children","Genetics","Social cognition","Theory of mind","Twins"],"dc:title":["Psychological and Genetic Contributions to the Development of Social Cognition in Children"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:34:36Z"}