Self-Conscious Emotion Processing in Autistic Adolescents: Over-Reliance on Learned Social Rules during Tasks with Heightened Perspective-Taking Demands May Serve as Compensatory Strategy for Less Reflexive Mentalizing

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  • Author(s): Jankowski, Kathryn F.; Pfeifer, Jennifer H. (ORCID Pfeifer, Jennifer H. (ORCID 0000-0002-6771-1873)
  • Language:
    English
  • Source:
    Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Oct 2021 51(10):3514-3532.
  • Publication Date:
    2021
  • Document Type:
    Journal Articles
    Reports - Research
  • Additional Information
    • Availability:
      Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
    • Peer Reviewed:
      Y
    • Source:
      19
    • Sponsoring Agency:
      National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (DHHS/NIH)
    • Contract Number:
      R01MH107418
    • Subject Terms:
      Adolescents; Autism; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Psychological Patterns; Social Cognition; Perspective Taking; Attribution Theory
    • Accession Number:
      10.1007/s10803-020-04808-6
    • ISSN:
      0162-3257
    • Abstract:
      Autistic adolescents experience a secondary wave of social cognitive challenges which impact interpersonal success. We investigated self-conscious emotion (SCE) processing in autistic and neurotypical adolescents. Participants watched videos of peers acting embarrassed and proud and rated inferred and empathic SCEs. We compared intensity ratings across groups and conducted correlations with social cognitive abilities and autistic features. Autistic adolescents recognized SCEs and felt empathic SCEs; however, they made atypical emotion attributions when perspective-taking demands were high, which more strongly reflected the situational context. Atypical attributions were associated with perspective-taking difficulties and autistic feature intensity. An over-reliance on contextual cues may reflect a strict adherence to learned social rules, possibly compensating for less reflexive mentalizing, which may underlie interpersonal challenges in ASD.
    • Abstract:
      As Provided
    • Publication Date:
      2021
    • Accession Number:
      EJ1310620