Integration of Facial Expression and Gaze Direction in Individuals with a High Level of Autistic Traits

Andrea Marotta, Belén Aranda-Martín, Marco De Cono, María Ángeles Ballesteros-Duperón, Maria Casagrande and Juan Lupiáñez
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Andrea Marotta: Department of Experimental Psychology and Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Belén Aranda-Martín: Department of Experimental Psychology and Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Marco De Cono: Department of Psychobiology and Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
María Ángeles Ballesteros-Duperón: Department of Psychobiology and Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Maria Casagrande: Dipartimento di Psicologia Dinamica e Clinica, Sapienza Università di Roma, 00185 Rome, Italy
Juan Lupiáñez: Department of Experimental Psychology and Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 5, 1-11

Abstract: Background. We investigated whether individuals with high levels of autistic traits integrate relevant communicative signals, such as facial expression, when decoding eye-gaze direction. Methods. Students with high vs. low scores on the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) performed a task in which they responded to the eye directions of faces, presented on the left or the right side of a screen, portraying different emotional expressions. Results. In both groups, the identification of gaze direction was faster when the eyes were directed towards the center of the scene. However, in the low AQ group, this effect was larger for happy faces than for neutral faces or faces showing other emotional expressions, whereas participants from high AQ group were not affected by emotional expressions. Conclusions. These results suggest that individuals with more autistic traits may not integrate multiple communicative signals based on their emotional value.

Keywords: eye-gaze; emotional expression; autistic traits; congruency effect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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