The “Reading the Mind in Films” task: A pilot study on complex emotion recognition for the Italian adaptation in adults with and without Autism Spectrum Conditions.

Addressing the lack of an assessment tool in Italy for evaluating complex emotion recognition in natural settings, akin to everyday situations, this research investigates the potential of Golan et al.'s Reading the Mind in Film test (RMF) introduced in 2006. Currently, the Italian version of the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test (RMET) is primarily utilized for this purpose. Individuals with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) have difficulties recognizing others’ mental state and intentions. However, most research has focused on recognition of basic emotions from faces and voices separately. This pilot study aims to translate and validate Golan et al.'s RMF test by assessing its ecological validity into the Italian context. A sample of young adults with Autism Spectrum Condition (with ASC; n=22) enrolled in a filmmaking course was recruited and compared with a control group of neurotypical individuals from the general population (without ASC; n=22). Participants underwent individual testing and completed the Autism Questionnaire before completing the RMF and RMET tasks. Findings indicated no significant differences in performance between the two groups but mirrored the results reported in the original study for the control group. Moreover, this primary investigation effectively demonstrates the validity and reliability of the translated RMF test, affirming its accuracy and quality. Interestingly, our results suggest that prolonged exposure to film- and video-related courses may positively affect emotion recognition performance in individuals with ASC. This highlights the potential impact of educational interventions on emotion recognition skills -that may have been enhanced -in this peculiar demographic pull.