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Emotion Perception in Asperger’s Syndrome and High-functioning Autism: The Importance of Diagnostic Criteria and Cue Intensity

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Abstract

This study compared emotion perception accuracy between children with Asperger’s syndrome (AS) and high-functioning autism (HFA). Thirty children were diagnosed with AS or HFA based on empirically supported diagnostic criteria and administered an emotion perception test consisting of facial expressions and tone of voice cues that varied in intensity. Participants with AS and the typically developing standardization sample of the emotion perception instrument had the same mean emotion perception accuracy, whereas participants with HFA performed significantly worse. Results also provided preliminary evidence for a difference in accuracy perceiving low-intensity tone of voice cues between participants with HFA and AS. Future research to build on these initial findings should include attention to tone of voice, underlying processing, and cue intensity.

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Acknowledgements

This manuscript is based on the doctoral dissertation of the first author and the manuscript version was supported by a National Research Service Award from the National Institutes of Health, T32 MH-20030 (PI MC Neale). The authors would like to thank the children and their families who participated in the study. The authors are also grateful to Ami Klin and his colleagues at Yale University for providing us with their new diagnostic criteria prior to publication, and for their consultation. We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Dr. Albert Farrell, dissertation co-chair who provided guidance throughout the project, and Hanan Abed, for her assistance with data collection and entry. Finally, we would like to thank the reviewers for their thoughtful comments and suggestions.

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  1. Carla A. Mazefsky

    Present address: Departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA , 23284, USA

    Carla A. Mazefsky

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, 23298, USA

    Donald P. Oswald

  3. Child Development Unit, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, 3705 5th Ave, Pittsburgh, PA , 15213, USA

    Carla A. Mazefsky

Authors
  1. Carla A. Mazefsky
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  2. Donald P. Oswald
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Correspondence to Carla A. Mazefsky.

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Mazefsky, C.A., Oswald, D.P. Emotion Perception in Asperger’s Syndrome and High-functioning Autism: The Importance of Diagnostic Criteria and Cue Intensity. J Autism Dev Disord 37, 1086–1095 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0251-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0251-6

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