The “Reading the Mind in Films” Task: A Pilot Study on Complex Emotion and Mental State Recognition for the Italian Adaptation in Adults with and Without Autism Spectrum Conditions

<b>Background/Objectives:</b> The present pilot study tested and reports the Italian adaptation of the Reading the Mind in Film test (RMF), an ecological test for assessing, in Italian adults with and without Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC), complex emotion and mental state recognition i...

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Main Authors: Raffaele Simone Scuotto, Sofia Bonfanti, Paola Ricciardelli
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-12-01
Series:Brain Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/14/12/1240
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author Raffaele Simone Scuotto
Sofia Bonfanti
Paola Ricciardelli
author_facet Raffaele Simone Scuotto
Sofia Bonfanti
Paola Ricciardelli
author_sort Raffaele Simone Scuotto
collection DOAJ
description <b>Background/Objectives:</b> The present pilot study tested and reports the Italian adaptation of the Reading the Mind in Film test (RMF), an ecological test for assessing, in Italian adults with and without Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC), complex emotion and mental state recognition in natural settings and everyday situations. <b>Method</b>: A sample of young adults with Autism Spectrum Condition (with ASC; <i>n</i> = 22), attending a filmmaking course at a post-diploma school (<i>Scuola Futuro Lavoro</i>) took part in the study and was compared with a control group of neurotypical university students (without ASC; <i>n</i> = 22). All participants underwent individual testing and completed the Italian version of the Autism Questionnaire before performing the Italian version of both the RMF task and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET). The latter, widely used to evaluate the ability to detect what someone else is thinking or feeling from the eye region. <b>Results:</b> The findings of the control group were in line with the original study, demonstrating the validity and reliability of the translation and the dubbing procedure of the RMF test. However, no main significant differences in performance were found between the two groups. <b>Conclusions</b>: Such results suggest that taking a course in film and video making may have helped the autistic students learn how to recognize mental states.
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spelling doaj-art-da8db33232214b4aa657365cda19798a2025-08-20T02:53:27ZengMDPI AGBrain Sciences2076-34252024-12-011412124010.3390/brainsci14121240The “Reading the Mind in Films” Task: A Pilot Study on Complex Emotion and Mental State Recognition for the Italian Adaptation in Adults with and Without Autism Spectrum ConditionsRaffaele Simone Scuotto0Sofia Bonfanti1Paola Ricciardelli2Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy<b>Background/Objectives:</b> The present pilot study tested and reports the Italian adaptation of the Reading the Mind in Film test (RMF), an ecological test for assessing, in Italian adults with and without Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC), complex emotion and mental state recognition in natural settings and everyday situations. <b>Method</b>: A sample of young adults with Autism Spectrum Condition (with ASC; <i>n</i> = 22), attending a filmmaking course at a post-diploma school (<i>Scuola Futuro Lavoro</i>) took part in the study and was compared with a control group of neurotypical university students (without ASC; <i>n</i> = 22). All participants underwent individual testing and completed the Italian version of the Autism Questionnaire before performing the Italian version of both the RMF task and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET). The latter, widely used to evaluate the ability to detect what someone else is thinking or feeling from the eye region. <b>Results:</b> The findings of the control group were in line with the original study, demonstrating the validity and reliability of the translation and the dubbing procedure of the RMF test. However, no main significant differences in performance were found between the two groups. <b>Conclusions</b>: Such results suggest that taking a course in film and video making may have helped the autistic students learn how to recognize mental states.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/14/12/1240autism spectrum condition (ASC)emotion recognitionreading the mind in film (RMF)reading the mind in the eyes test (RMET)
spellingShingle Raffaele Simone Scuotto
Sofia Bonfanti
Paola Ricciardelli
The “Reading the Mind in Films” Task: A Pilot Study on Complex Emotion and Mental State Recognition for the Italian Adaptation in Adults with and Without Autism Spectrum Conditions
Brain Sciences
autism spectrum condition (ASC)
emotion recognition
reading the mind in film (RMF)
reading the mind in the eyes test (RMET)
title The “Reading the Mind in Films” Task: A Pilot Study on Complex Emotion and Mental State Recognition for the Italian Adaptation in Adults with and Without Autism Spectrum Conditions
title_full The “Reading the Mind in Films” Task: A Pilot Study on Complex Emotion and Mental State Recognition for the Italian Adaptation in Adults with and Without Autism Spectrum Conditions
title_fullStr The “Reading the Mind in Films” Task: A Pilot Study on Complex Emotion and Mental State Recognition for the Italian Adaptation in Adults with and Without Autism Spectrum Conditions
title_full_unstemmed The “Reading the Mind in Films” Task: A Pilot Study on Complex Emotion and Mental State Recognition for the Italian Adaptation in Adults with and Without Autism Spectrum Conditions
title_short The “Reading the Mind in Films” Task: A Pilot Study on Complex Emotion and Mental State Recognition for the Italian Adaptation in Adults with and Without Autism Spectrum Conditions
title_sort reading the mind in films task a pilot study on complex emotion and mental state recognition for the italian adaptation in adults with and without autism spectrum conditions
topic autism spectrum condition (ASC)
emotion recognition
reading the mind in film (RMF)
reading the mind in the eyes test (RMET)
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/14/12/1240
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