The Sally-Anne False Belief Task

Results

  • Most children in all three groups answered the reality and memory questions correctly (Questions 2 and 3 respectively).
  • 85% of the typically developing children and 86% of the children with Down's syndrome also answered the belief question correctly.
  • In contrast, 80% of the autistic children answered the belief question incorrectly. That is, when asked 'Where will Sally look for her marble?' they pointed to the marble's current location (i.e. the box), rather than to the basket where Sally had left the marble.