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Brief Report: Reduced Prioritization of Facial Threat in Adults with Autism

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Abstract

Typically-developing (TD) adults detect angry faces more efficiently within a crowd than non-threatening faces. Prior studies of this social threat superiority effect (TSE) in ASD using tasks consisting of schematic faces and homogeneous crowds have produced mixed results. Here, we employ a more ecologically-valid test of the social TSE and find evidence of a reduced social TSE in adults with ASD (n = 21) relative to TD controls (n = 28). Unlike TD participants, the ASD group failed to show the normative advantage for detecting angry faces faster than happy faces, either within crowds of neutral or emotional faces. These findings parallel prior work indicating a reduced sensitivity in ASD to facial cues of untrustworthiness, and may reflect a vulnerability for evaluating social harm.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the individuals who participated in the study, and the Nonpareil Institute of Plano, TX for helping with participant recruitment. We also extend our gratitude to Daniel J. Faso and Claire Simpson for helping with data collection, and Dr. Nyaz Didehbani for assisting with clinical assessments.

Author Contributions

Noah J. Sasson helped conceive of the study, participated in its design, conducted statistical analyses, interpreted data, and drafted the manuscript; Jonathon R. Shasteen participated in data collection, assisted with statistical analyses and interpretation of data, and reviewed and edited the manuscript; Amy E. Pinkham helped conceive the study, participated in its design, interpretation of data, and reviewed and edited the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Texas at Dallas, Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 800 W. Campbell Rd, GR41, Richardson, TX, 75080, USA

    Noah J. Sasson, Jonathon R. Shasteen & Amy E. Pinkham

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  1. Noah J. Sasson
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  2. Jonathon R. Shasteen
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  3. Amy E. Pinkham
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Correspondence to Noah J. Sasson.

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Sasson, N.J., Shasteen, J.R. & Pinkham, A.E. Brief Report: Reduced Prioritization of Facial Threat in Adults with Autism. J Autism Dev Disord 46, 1471–1476 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2664-6

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