scholarly journals The Relationship between Autism-Spectrum Quotient and Paralanguage Sensitivity

Author(s):  
Jun YOSHIMOTO ◽  
Etsuo MIZUKAMI
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly S. Helt ◽  
Taylor M. Sorensen ◽  
Rachel J. Scheub ◽  
Mira B. Nakhle ◽  
Anna C. Luddy

Both individuals with diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and individuals high in psychopathic traits show reduced susceptibility to contagious yawning; that is, yawning after seeing or hearing another person yawn. Yet it is unclear whether the same underlying processes (e.g., reduced eye gaze) are responsible for the relationship between reduced contagion and these very different types of clinical traits. College Students (n = 97) watched videos of individuals yawning or scratching (a form of contagion not reliant on eye gaze for transmission) while their eye movements were tracked. They completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), the Psychopathy Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R), and the Adolescent and Adult Sensory Processing Disorder Checklist. Both psychopathic traits and autistic traits showed an inverse relationship to contagious yawning, consistent with previous research. However, the relationship between autistic (but not psychopathic) traits and contagious yawning was moderated by eye gaze. Furthermore, participants high in autistic traits showed typical levels of contagious itching whereas adults high in psychopathic traits showed diminished itch contagion. Finally, only psychopathic traits were associated with lower overall levels of empathy. The findings imply that the underlying processes contributing to the disruptions in contagious yawning amongst individuals high in autistic vs. psychopathic traits are distinct. In contrast to adults high in psychopathic traits, diminished contagion may appear amongst people with high levels of autistic traits secondary to diminished attention to the faces of others, and in the absence of a background deficit in emotional empathy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 403-426
Author(s):  
Helen Clegg ◽  
Roz Collings ◽  
Elizabeth C. Roxburgh

AbstractTherianthropy is the belief that one is at least part non-human animal. This study aimed to address the dichotomization surrounding therianthropy in relation to mental health and wellbeing. One hundred and twelve therians and 265 non-therians completed Ryff’s Scales of Psychological Wellbeing, the O-LIFE questionnaire, and the Autism Spectrum Quotient. The results showed that therians scored lower on variables that are associated with positive social relationships. Such findings may be explained by cognitive factors and/or social factors that are associated with the stigmatization of cross-species identities. However, being a therian moderated the relationship between both autism and introverted anhedonia in relation to autonomy. Thus, a therian identity may act as a protective factor for those experiencing higher levels of autism and schizotypy.


2018 ◽  
Vol 122 (6) ◽  
pp. 2282-2297
Author(s):  
Kai Nagase

Extant research regarding humor appreciation in individuals with autism spectrum disorder has been equivocal. This study aims to clarify the relationship between the severity of autism spectrum disorder characteristics and humor appreciation in typically developing individuals. We hypothesized that the severity of autistic traits would have a U-shaped linear relationship with humor appreciation. Eighty typically developing undergraduates between the ages of 18 and 22 years ( Mage = 20.20; SDage = 1.08) were recruited for this study. They were asked to answer 24 statements, devised to measure humor appreciation, in response to a joke stimulus comprising 12 typically funny daily life occurrences (two statements per episode). The participants also responded to the Japanese version of the Autism-Spectrum Quotient. A significant U-shaped relationship was observed between the severity of autistic traits and appreciation of humor. A similar significant U-shaped relationship was seen between humor appreciation and the Autism-Spectrum Quotient subscales of attention switching, communication, and imagination. Humor appreciation showed no significant U-shaped relationship with the Autism-Spectrum Quotient subscales of social skills and local details. This study identified ways that autistic traits may influence how people appreciate humor. These findings are discussed in relation to cognitive processes underlying humor appreciation.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Lodi-Smith ◽  
Jonathan D. Rodgers ◽  
Valeria Marquez Luna ◽  
Sarah Khan ◽  
Caleb J. Long ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Kimmo Eriksson

AbstractPrevious research shows that individuals with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism tend to have impaired processing of humor and laugh at things that are not commonly found funny. Here the relationship between humor styles and the broader autism phenotype was investigated in a sample of the general population. The autism-spectrum quotient (AQ) and the humor styles questionnaire (HSQ) were administered to six hundred US participants recruited through an Internet-based service. On the whole, high scores on AQ were negatively related to positive humor styles and unrelated to negative humor styles. However, AQ subscales representing different autism-spectrum traits exhibited different patterns. In particular, the factor “poor mind-reading” was associated with higher scores on negative humor styles and the factor “attention to detail” was associated with higher scores on all humor styles, suggesting a more nuanced picture of the relationship between autism-spectrum traits and humor.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Kaplan-Kahn ◽  
Aesoon Park ◽  
Natalie Russo

Autistic individuals show enhanced perceptual functioning on many behavioral tasks. Neurophysiological evidence also supports the conclusion that autistic individuals utilize perceptual processes to a greater extent than neurotypical comparisons to support problem solving and reasoning; however, how atypicalities in early perceptual processing influence subsequent cognitive processes remains to be elucidated. The goals of the present study were to test the relationship between early perceptual and subsequent cognitive event related potentials (ERPs) and their relationship to levels of autism traits. 62 neurotypical adults completed the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) and participated in an ERP task. Path models were compared to test causal relationships among an early perceptual ERP (the P1 component), a subsequent cognitive ERP (the N400 effect), and the Attention to Detail subscale of the AQ. The size of participants’ P1 components was positively correlated with the size of their N400 effect and their Attention to Detail score. Model comparisons supported the model specifying that variation in Attention to Detail scores predicted meaningful differences in participants’ ERP waveforms. The relationship between Attention to Detail scores and the size of the N400 effect was significantly mediated by the size of the P1 effect. This study revealed that neurotypical adults with higher levels of Attention to Detail show larger P1 differences, which, in turn, correspond to larger N400 effects. Findings support the Enhanced Perceptual Functioning model of autism, suggesting that early perceptual processing differences may cascade forward and result in modifications to later cognitive mechanisms.


2021 ◽  
pp. 102986492098816
Author(s):  
Shalini Sivathasan ◽  
Gwenaëlle Philibert-Lignières ◽  
Eve-Marie Quintin

Little is known about the relationship between the personality and the emotional experiences of people with broader autism phenotype (BAP) or autistic traits. Given that music is a powerful vehicle for conveying emotions and that several studies show that people with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) typically respond to music in similar ways, the present study examines the relationship between personality, autistic traits, and emotional experiences evoked by music. A total of 110 participants ( n = 74 females) aged 18 to 35 years ( M = 21.25, SD = 3.36) completed the NEO-Five Factor Inventory-3-S, Social Responsiveness Scale-2, Autism-Spectrum Quotient, and Goldsmiths Musical Sophistication Index self-report questionnaires. Path analyses revealed that the relationship between autistic traits and emotional responsiveness to music was fully mediated by extraversion, and to a lesser extent openness to experience. These results suggest that people in the general population who have fewer autistic traits and who tend to be extraverted and open to experience report greater emotional responsiveness to music than those who are less extraverted and less open to experience. These findings suggest that it is important to consider personality characteristics when considering the relationship between autistic traits and emotional experiences.


Autism ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 136236132096685
Author(s):  
John Galvin ◽  
Abby Howes ◽  
Bethany McCarthy ◽  
Gareth Richards

Self-compassion refers to the extension of kindness to oneself when faced with inadequacies, shortcomings or failures. This study examined the mediating role of self-compassion in the relationship between autistic traits and depressive/anxious symptomatology in the general population. Participants included 164 university students (69 males and 95 females) ranging in age from 18 to 51 years (mean = 23.16, standard deviation = 7.81). Participants completed the Autism Spectrum Quotient, the Self-Compassion Scale, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. A series of multiple mediation analyses was conducted using the bootstrapping method, and it was found that Total Self-Compassion and the two subscales of Compassionate Self-Responding and Uncompassionate Self-Responding partially mediated the relationship between autistic traits and anxious/depressive symptoms. The indirect effect of self-compassion accounted for 41.9% of the variance in the relationship between autistic traits and depressive symptoms and 50% of the variance in the relationship between autistic traits and anxiety symptoms. It was also further found that the correlation between autistic traits and self-compassion was significantly stronger in males than females. Although preliminary, the current findings suggest that self-compassion could potentially serve as a target for clinical intervention in individuals with elevated autistic traits who experience anxiety and/or depression. Lay Abstract In this study, we asked 164 undergraduate students to complete an online questionnaire. The questionnaire measured the students’ levels of autistic traits, self-compassion, and experience of anxiety and depression. We were interested in knowing if self-compassion (defined as the extension of kindness to oneself when faced with challenges) had any influence on the relationship between autistic traits and experiences of anxiety and depression. The results of the study indicated that self-compassion may be an important factor influencing the relationship between autistic traits and mental health, with higher levels of self-compassion being related to more positive mental health outcomes. Although the findings should be considered preliminary in nature, they do suggest that self-compassion could potentially be a target for clinical intervention in people with elevated autistic traits and experience anxiety and/or depression.


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