Natasha Baxter , Lucy Harlow , Ebony Harrison , Caitlin Smith , Hannah Hobson
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Atypical emotion recognition is argued to be characteristic of autism spectrum conditions (ASC), underpinned in part by atypical eye gaze, with less eye contact and more gaze direction towards the mouth. Given the widespread adoption of face masks due to the Covid-19 pandemic, exploring the effect of face masks on face processing in autism, as they occlude the mouth region, is of interest. This study investigated the impact of face masks on emotion and identity recognition, with a non-autistic (N = 50) and autistic (N = 27) sample. Participants also completed the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, and the abridged Autism Quotient, to investigate the roles of alexithymia and autistic traits in any impacts of face masks on face processing abilities. Masks were detrimental to performance for both autistic and non-autistic groups, and masks affected participants’ performance on the emotion recognition task more than the identity recognition task. Autistic participants’ performance was more negatively affected by the presence of masks, affecting emotion recognition precision in particular. The impact of face masks was not predicted by alexithymia or autistic traits, after gender and age were taken into account. Overall, the results suggest that masks negatively affect face processing for both non-autistic and autistic groups, particularly emotion recognition, however the impact of masks is amplified for autistic people. These results supplement autistic people’s reports that masks interfere with social interactions.
期刊介绍：
Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders (RASD) publishes high quality empirical articles and reviews that contribute to a better understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) at all levels of description; genetic, neurobiological, cognitive, and behavioral. The primary focus of the journal is to bridge the gap between basic research at these levels, and the practical questions and difficulties that are faced by individuals with ASD and their families, as well as carers, educators and clinicians. In addition, the journal encourages submissions on topics that remain under-researched in the field. We know shamefully little about the causes and consequences of the significant language and general intellectual impairments that characterize half of all individuals with ASD. We know even less about the challenges that women with ASD face and less still about the needs of individuals with ASD as they grow older. Medical and psychological co-morbidities and the complications they bring with them for the diagnosis and treatment of ASD represents another area of relatively little research. At RASD we are committed to promoting high-quality and rigorous research on all of these issues, and we look forward to receiving many excellent submissions.
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