Autistic traits specific to communication ability are associated with performance on a Mooney face detection task.
Atten Percept Psychophys
; 86(7): 2504-2516, 2024 Oct.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38755347
ABSTRACT
Difficulties in global face processing have been associated with autism. However, autism is heterogenous, and it is not known which dimensions of autistic traits are implicated in face-processing difficulties. To address this gap in knowledge, we conducted two experiments to examine how identification of Mooney face stimuli (stylized, black-and-white images of faces without details) related to the six subscales of the Comprehensive Autistic Trait Inventory in young adults. In Experiment 1, regression analyses indicated that participants with poorer communication skills had lower task sensitivity when discriminating between face-present and face-absent images, whilst other autistic traits had no unique predictive value. Experiment 2 replicated these findings and additionally showed that autistic traits were linked to a reduced face inversion effect. Taken together, these results indicate autistic traits, especially communication difficulties, are associated with reduced configural processing of face stimuli. It follows that both reduced sensitivity for identifying upright faces amongst similar-looking distractors and reduced susceptibility to face inversion effects may be linked to relatively decreased reliance on configural processing of faces in autism. This study also reinforces the need to consider the different facets of autism independently.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Reconocimiento Facial
Límite:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Atten Percept Psychophys
Asunto de la revista:
PSICOFISIOLOGIA
/
PSICOLOGIA
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Australia
Pais de publicación:
Estados Unidos