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Friday, May 8, 2009
Northwest Hall (Chicago Hilton)
2:30 PM
Background: Researchers have argued that individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) use an effortful “systematizing” process to recognize nonverbal facial emotion expressions, whereas typically developing (TD) individuals use a more holistic process. If this is the case, even high functioning individuals with ASDs, relative to TD individuals, should show slower, less efficient, and less accurate emotion recognition – a tendency that could help account for their social deficits. To date, research has been equivocal regarding whether high functioning individuals with ASDs have impaired recognition for emotion expression.
Objectives: The aim of the present research was to investigate the “systematizing” account of emotion recognition in ASD by testing whether children and adolescents with ASD show impaired recognition of basic-emotion expressions (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise) and two more socially complex emotion expressions (contempt and pride). Specifically, we sought to investigate whether these individuals would exhibit a general deficit in recognition (i.e., lower accuracy and higher false-alarm rates relative to TD individuals), and whether they would recognize emotions through a more deliberate process (i.e., slower response times and below-chance recognition when forced to respond quickly). This was also the first study to examine whether individuals with ASDs can recognize the pride expression.
Methods: This study included 29 high functioning individuals with ASDs (3 female; M age=147 months) and 31 TD individuals (3 female; M age=147 months), all with Wechsler Full Scale IQ>75. Of the ASD sample, 11 were diagnosed with high functioning autism (HFA), 15 with Asperger’s Disorder, and 2 with PDDNOS, according to criteria set by the DSM-IV-TR, the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule – Generic, and the Social Communication Questionnaire. Participants viewed blocks of photos of eight emotion expressions (anger, contempt, disgust, fear, happiness, pride, sadness, surprise). Each block had a different target emotion, and participants indicated whether each expression represented the target emotion for that block by pressing the “yes” and “no” keys on a keyboard. They were told to respond as fast as possible; the next expression appeared immediately after each response or after a maximum of 1500 ms.
Results: Children and adolescents with ASDs showed quick and accurate recognition for most emotions, including the socially complex emotion of pride. No differences emerged between ASD and TD groups on recognition rates, false alarm rates, and reaction times for any of the eight emotions. Furthermore, both groups tended to be more accurate when responding quickly, even though systematizing should promote a speed-accuracy trade-off for the ASD group.
Conclusions: These findings are not consistent with the systematizing account, and indicate that high functioning individuals with ASDs are not impaired in automatic emotion recognition.
Objectives: The aim of the present research was to investigate the “systematizing” account of emotion recognition in ASD by testing whether children and adolescents with ASD show impaired recognition of basic-emotion expressions (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise) and two more socially complex emotion expressions (contempt and pride). Specifically, we sought to investigate whether these individuals would exhibit a general deficit in recognition (i.e., lower accuracy and higher false-alarm rates relative to TD individuals), and whether they would recognize emotions through a more deliberate process (i.e., slower response times and below-chance recognition when forced to respond quickly). This was also the first study to examine whether individuals with ASDs can recognize the pride expression.
Methods: This study included 29 high functioning individuals with ASDs (3 female; M age=147 months) and 31 TD individuals (3 female; M age=147 months), all with Wechsler Full Scale IQ>75. Of the ASD sample, 11 were diagnosed with high functioning autism (HFA), 15 with Asperger’s Disorder, and 2 with PDDNOS, according to criteria set by the DSM-IV-TR, the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule – Generic, and the Social Communication Questionnaire. Participants viewed blocks of photos of eight emotion expressions (anger, contempt, disgust, fear, happiness, pride, sadness, surprise). Each block had a different target emotion, and participants indicated whether each expression represented the target emotion for that block by pressing the “yes” and “no” keys on a keyboard. They were told to respond as fast as possible; the next expression appeared immediately after each response or after a maximum of 1500 ms.
Results: Children and adolescents with ASDs showed quick and accurate recognition for most emotions, including the socially complex emotion of pride. No differences emerged between ASD and TD groups on recognition rates, false alarm rates, and reaction times for any of the eight emotions. Furthermore, both groups tended to be more accurate when responding quickly, even though systematizing should promote a speed-accuracy trade-off for the ASD group.
Conclusions: These findings are not consistent with the systematizing account, and indicate that high functioning individuals with ASDs are not impaired in automatic emotion recognition.