Reading the Mind in the Eyes Task¶
HED Task ID: hedtsk_reading_the_mind_in_the_eyes
Also known as: RMET, Eyes Test, Baron-Cohen Eyes Task
Choice of the best-matching mental-state word for a photograph of the eye region; accuracy indexes complex emotion and mental-state inference.
Description¶
Participants view photographs showing only the eye and eyebrow region of actors and select which of four mental state descriptors best describes the person’s thoughts or feelings. The revised version contains 36 photographs, each with four choices ranging from basic emotions to complex cognitive states (e.g., “sarcastic,” “despondent”). The task indexes affective theory of mind and shows deficits in autism spectrum conditions. Performance correlates with amygdala and left inferior frontal gyrus activity.
Inclusion test¶
Procedure |
Participants view photographs of the eye region of faces and select the mental state (from four word options) that best describes what the person is thinking or feeling. |
Manipulation |
Number of items (typically 36); response options; presentation duration; basic vs. complex mental states. |
Measurement |
Total correct; comparison to normative data; errors by emotion category. |
Variations¶
Variation |
Description |
Justification |
|---|---|---|
RMET Revised (36 items) |
Standard adult version with four-choice forced response. |
Canonical Baron-Cohen RMET with 36-item set |
RMET Short Form (15–18 items) |
Abbreviated version for rapid screening. |
Abbreviated form; recognized efficient version |
RMET Child Version |
Adapted stimuli and response options for developmental assessment. |
Simplified vocabulary and reduced items for children; adapted per §5.3 |
Dynamic Eyes Task |
Video clips of eye movements rather than static photographs. |
Moving eyes instead of static photographs; different stimulus type |
Full-Face vs. Eyes-Only |
Comparing performance with isolated eyes vs. complete faces. |
Full face context vs. isolated eyes region; different stimulus scope |
Cognitive processes¶
This task engages the following cognitive processes:
Key references¶
{‘authors’: ‘Baron‐Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Hill, J., Raste, Y., & Plumb, I.’, ‘year’: 2001, ‘title’: ‘The “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” Test Revised Version: A Study with Normal Adults, and Adults with Asperger Syndrome or High‐functioning Autism’, ‘venue’: ‘Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry’, ‘venue_type’: ‘journal’, ‘journal’: ‘Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry’, ‘volume’: ‘42’, ‘issue’: ‘2’, ‘pages’: ‘241-251’, ‘doi’: ‘10.1111/1469-7610.00715’, ‘openalex_id’: None, ‘pmid’: None, ‘citation_string’: ‘Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Hill, J., Raste, Y., & Plumb, I. (2001). The “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” test revised version: A study with normal adults, and adults with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 42(2), 241-251.’, ‘url’: ‘https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-7610.00715’, ‘source’: ‘crossref’, ‘confidence’: ‘high’, ‘verified_on’: ‘2026-04-20’}
{‘authors’: ‘Adams, R. B., Rule, N. O., Franklin, R. G., Wang, E., Stevenson, M. T., Yoshikawa, S., Nomura, M., Sato, W., Kveraga, K., & Ambady, N.’, ‘year’: 2010, ‘title’: ‘Cross-cultural Reading the Mind in the Eyes: An fMRI Investigation’, ‘venue’: ‘Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience’, ‘venue_type’: ‘journal’, ‘journal’: ‘Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience’, ‘volume’: ‘22’, ‘issue’: ‘1’, ‘pages’: ‘97-108’, ‘doi’: ‘10.1162/jocn.2009.21187’, ‘openalex_id’: None, ‘pmid’: None, ‘citation_string’: ‘Adams, R. B., Rule, N. O., Franklin, R. G., et al. (2010). Cross-cultural reading the mind in the eyes: An fMRI investigation. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 22(1), 97-108.’, ‘url’: ‘https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn.2009.21187’, ‘source’: ‘crossref’, ‘confidence’: ‘high’, ‘verified_on’: ‘2026-04-20’}
{‘authors’: ‘Oakley, B. F. M., Brewer, R., Bird, G., & Catmur, C.’, ‘year’: 2016, ‘title’: ‘Theory of mind is not theory of emotion: A cautionary note on the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test.’, ‘venue’: ‘Journal of Abnormal Psychology’, ‘venue_type’: ‘journal’, ‘journal’: ‘Journal of Abnormal Psychology’, ‘volume’: ‘125’, ‘issue’: ‘6’, ‘pages’: ‘818-823’, ‘doi’: ‘10.1037/abn0000182’, ‘openalex_id’: None, ‘pmid’: None, ‘citation_string’: ‘Oakley, B. F. M., Brewer, R., Bird, G., & Catmur, C. (2016). Theory of mind is not theory of emotion: A cautionary note on the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 125(6), 818-823.’, ‘url’: ‘https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000182’, ‘source’: ‘crossref’, ‘confidence’: ‘high’, ‘verified_on’: ‘2026-04-20’}
Recent references¶
{‘authors’: ‘Olderbak, S., Wilhelm, O., Olaru, G., Geiger, M., Brenneman, M. W., & Roberts, R. D.’, ‘year’: 2015, ‘title’: ‘A psychometric analysis of the reading the mind in the eyes test: toward a brief form for research and applied settings’, ‘venue’: ‘Frontiers in Psychology’, ‘venue_type’: ‘journal’, ‘journal’: ‘Frontiers in Psychology’, ‘volume’: ‘6’, ‘issue’: None, ‘pages’: None, ‘doi’: ‘10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01503’, ‘openalex_id’: None, ‘pmid’: None, ‘citation_string’: ‘Olderbak, S., Wilhelm, O., Olaru, G., et al. (2015). A psychometric analysis of the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test: Toward a brief form. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 1503.’, ‘url’: ‘https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01503’, ‘source’: ‘crossref’, ‘confidence’: ‘high’, ‘verified_on’: ‘2026-04-20’}
{‘authors’: ‘Oakley, B. F. M., Brewer, R., Bird, G., & Catmur, C.’, ‘year’: 2016, ‘title’: ‘Theory of mind is not theory of emotion: A cautionary note on the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test.’, ‘venue’: ‘Journal of Abnormal Psychology’, ‘venue_type’: ‘journal’, ‘journal’: ‘Journal of Abnormal Psychology’, ‘volume’: ‘125’, ‘issue’: ‘6’, ‘pages’: ‘818-823’, ‘doi’: ‘10.1037/abn0000182’, ‘openalex_id’: None, ‘pmid’: None, ‘citation_string’: ‘Oakley, B. F. M., Brewer, R., Bird, G., & Catmur, C. (2016). Theory of mind is not theory of emotion: A cautionary note on the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 125(6), 818–823.’, ‘url’: ‘https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000182’, ‘source’: ‘crossref’, ‘confidence’: ‘high’, ‘verified_on’: ‘2026-04-20’}
{‘authors’: ‘Warrier, V., Toro, R., Chakrabarti, B., Børglum, A. D., Grove, J., Hinds, D. A., Bourgeron, T., & Baron-Cohen, S.’, ‘year’: 2018, ‘title’: ‘Genome-wide analyses of self-reported empathy: correlations with autism, schizophrenia, and anorexia nervosa’, ‘venue’: ‘Translational Psychiatry’, ‘venue_type’: ‘journal’, ‘journal’: ‘Translational Psychiatry’, ‘volume’: ‘8’, ‘issue’: ‘1’, ‘pages’: ‘1402–1409’, ‘doi’: ‘10.1038/s41398-017-0082-6’, ‘openalex_id’: None, ‘pmid’: None, ‘citation_string’: ‘Warrier, V., Grasby, K. L., Uzefovsky, F., et al. (2018). Genome-wide meta-analysis of cognitive empathy: Heritability and correlates with sex, neuropsychiatric conditions and cognition. Molecular Psychiatry, 23(6), 1402–1409.’, ‘url’: ‘https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-017-0082-6’, ‘source’: ‘crossref’, ‘confidence’: ‘high’, ‘verified_on’: ‘2026-04-20’}
{‘authors’: ‘Vellante, M., Baron-Cohen, S., Melis, M., Marrone, M., Petretto, D. R., Masala, C., & Preti, A.’, ‘year’: 2013, ‘title’: ‘The “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” test: Systematic review of psychometric properties and a validation study in Italy’, ‘venue’: ‘Cognitive Neuropsychiatry’, ‘venue_type’: ‘journal’, ‘journal’: ‘Cognitive Neuropsychiatry’, ‘volume’: ‘18’, ‘issue’: ‘4’, ‘pages’: ‘326-354’, ‘doi’: ‘10.1080/13546805.2012.721728’, ‘openalex_id’: None, ‘pmid’: None, ‘citation_string’: ‘Vellante, M., Baron-Cohen, S., Melis, M., et al. (2013). The “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” test: Systematic review of psychometric properties and a validation study in Italy. Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 18(4), 326–354.’, ‘url’: ‘https://doi.org/10.1080/13546805.2012.721728’, ‘source’: ‘crossref’, ‘confidence’: ‘high’, ‘verified_on’: ‘2026-04-20’}