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Gao RR, Si SW, Lin XX, Wang YZ, Wang N, Wang JY, Luo F. Differential relationships between autistic traits and anthropomorphic tendencies in adults and early adolescents. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1281207. [PMID: 38899122 PMCID: PMC11186442 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1281207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Anthropomorphism, the attribution of human-like qualities (e.g., mental states) to nonhuman entities, is a universal but variable psychological experience. Adults with professionally diagnosed autism or high levels of subclinical autistic traits consistently show greater tendencies to anthropomorphize, which has been hypothesized to reflect 1) a compensatory mechanism for lack of social connectedness and 2) a persistence of childhood anthropomorphism into adulthood. Here, we directly tested these hypotheses in a general population sample consisting of both adults (N=685, 17-58 years old) and early adolescents (N=145, 12-14 years old) using the refined 9-item Anthropomorphism Questionnaire (AnthQ9), which measures both present and childhood anthropomorphic tendencies. We found that adults with heightened autistic traits reported increased present anthropomorphism (e.g., tend more to perceive computers as having minds), which held even after controlling for social connectedness. In contrast, adolescents with heightened autistic traits did not show increased present anthropomorphism, but rather reported reduced childhood anthropomorphism (e.g., less likely to perceive toys as having feelings) after controlling for social connectedness. We also found evidence that the present and childhood subscales of the AnthQ9 may tap into fundamentally different aspects of anthropomorphism. The results suggest that increased anthropomorphic tendencies in adults with heightened autistic traits cannot be explained solely by increased sociality motivation, but may be due to delayed development of anthropomorphism, although alternative possibilities of measurement problems cannot be ruled out. Implications for the measurement of anthropomorphism and its relation with theory of mind were also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui-Rui Gao
- Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | | | - Xiao-Xiao Lin
- Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yu-Zheng Wang
- Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ning Wang
- Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jin-Yan Wang
- Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Fei Luo
- Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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Toutain M, Dollion N, Henry L, Grandgeorge M. How Do Children and Adolescents with ASD Look at Animals? A Scoping Review. CHILDREN (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 11:211. [PMID: 38397322 PMCID: PMC10887101 DOI: 10.3390/children11020211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Revised: 01/05/2024] [Accepted: 02/04/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by interaction and communication differences, entailing visual attention skill specificities. Interactions with animals, such as in animal-assisted interventions or with service dogs, have been shown to be beneficial for individuals with ASD. While interacting with humans poses challenges for them, engaging with animals appears to be different. One hypothesis suggests that differences between individuals with ASD's visual attention to humans and to animals may contribute to these interaction differences. We propose a scoping review of the research on the visual attention to animals of youths with ASD. The objective is to review the methodologies and tools used to explore such questions, to summarize the main results, to explore which factors may contribute to the differences reported in the studies, and to deduce how youth with ASD observe animals. Utilizing strict inclusion criteria, we examined databases between 1942 and 2023, identifying 21 studies in international peer-reviewed journals. Three main themes were identified: attentional engagement and detection, visual exploration, and behavior. Collectively, our findings suggest that the visual attention of youths with ASD towards animals appears comparable to that of neurotypical peers, at least in 2D pictures (i.e., eye gaze patterns). Future studies should explore whether these results extend to real-life interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manon Toutain
- CNRS, EthoS (Éthologie Animale et Humaine)—UMR 6552, University Rennes, Normandie University, F-35000 Rennes, France; (L.H.); (M.G.)
| | - Nicolas Dollion
- Laboratoire C2S (Cognition Santé Société)—EA6291, Université Reims Champagne-Ardenne, F-51100 Reims, France;
| | - Laurence Henry
- CNRS, EthoS (Éthologie Animale et Humaine)—UMR 6552, University Rennes, Normandie University, F-35000 Rennes, France; (L.H.); (M.G.)
| | - Marine Grandgeorge
- CNRS, EthoS (Éthologie Animale et Humaine)—UMR 6552, University Rennes, Normandie University, F-35000 Rennes, France; (L.H.); (M.G.)
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Atherton G, Piovesan A, Cross L. Autism, pets, and the importance of seeing human. Autism Res 2023; 16:1765-1774. [PMID: 37434514 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/08/2023] [Indexed: 07/13/2023]
Abstract
People often see the human in the nonhuman, a process called anthropomorphism. Anthropomorphism is particularly prolific regarding the humanization of pets. Some research suggests that people with autism may not anthropomorphize to the same degree as neurotypicals. In this study, we explored whether there were differences in how autistic and neurotypical pet owners anthropomorphized their pets. We also examined differences in levels of connectedness to nature and experiences of loneliness and how this corresponded to autistic traits in the entire sample. We found anthropomorphism was as common among autistic pet owners as in neurotypicals. However, autistic pet owners reported greater loneliness and were more likely to substitute pets for people. We also found that neurotypical pet owners rated pets more highly on physical, non-anthropomorphic traits (i.e., muscular, active). In contrast, autistic pet owners were likelier to rate pets equally between physical and anthropomorphic traits. Moreover, we found that anthropomorphism and connection to nature were positively correlated with autistic traits. These findings challenge accounts stating that individuals with autism may not anthropomorphize to the same degree as neurotypicals. Implications for animal-based interventions supporting adults on the spectrum are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gray Atherton
- Department of Psychology, Edge Hill University, Liverpool, UK
| | - Andrea Piovesan
- Department of Psychology, Edge Hill University, Liverpool, UK
| | - Liam Cross
- Department of Psychology, Edge Hill University, Liverpool, UK
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Parker TC, Zhang X, Noah JA, Tiede M, Scassellati B, Kelley M, McPartland JC, Hirsch J. Neural and visual processing of social gaze cueing in typical and ASD adults. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2023:2023.01.30.23284243. [PMID: 36778502 PMCID: PMC9915835 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.30.23284243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Atypical eye gaze in joint attention is a clinical characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Despite this documented symptom, neural processing of joint attention tasks in real-life social interactions is not understood. To address this knowledge gap, functional-near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and eye-tracking data were acquired simultaneously as ASD and typically developed (TD) individuals engaged in a gaze-directed joint attention task with a live human and robot partner. We test the hypothesis that face processing deficits in ASD are greater for interactive faces than for simulated (robot) faces. Consistent with prior findings, neural responses during human gaze cueing modulated by face visual dwell time resulted in increased activity of ventral frontal regions in ASD and dorsal parietal systems in TD participants. Hypoactivity of the right dorsal parietal area during live human gaze cueing was correlated with autism spectrum symptom severity: Brief Observations of Symptoms of Autism (BOSA) scores (r = âˆ'0.86). Contrarily, neural activity in response to robot gaze cueing modulated by visual acquisition factors activated dorsal parietal systems in ASD, and this neural activity was not related to autism symptom severity (r = 0.06). These results are consistent with the hypothesis that altered encoding of incoming facial information to the dorsal parietal cortex is specific to live human faces in ASD. These findings open new directions for understanding joint attention difficulties in ASD by providing a connection between superior parietal lobule activity and live interaction with human faces. Lay Summary Little is known about why it is so difficult for autistic individuals to make eye contact with other people. We find that in a live face-to-face viewing task with a robot, the brains of autistic participants were similar to typical participants but not when the partner was a live human. Findings suggest that difficulties in real-life social situations for autistic individuals may be specific to difficulties with live social interaction rather than general face gaze.
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