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Evaluating Posed and Evoked Facial Expressions of Emotion from Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Abstract

Though many studies have examined facial affect perception by individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), little research has investigated how facial expressivity in ASD is perceived by others. Here, naïve female observers (n = 38) judged the intensity, naturalness and emotional category of expressions produced by adults with ASD (n = 6) and typically developing (TD) adults (n = 6) in both a posed condition and an evoked condition in which emotions were naturalistically elicited and validated. ASD expressions were rated as more intense and less natural than TD expressions but contrary to prediction were identified with greater accuracy, an effect driven primarily by angry expressions. Naturalness ratings of evoked expressions were positively associated with identification accuracy for TD but not ASD individuals. Collectively, these findings highlight differences, but not a reduction, in facial expressivity in ASD that do not hinder emotion recognition accuracy but may affect social interaction quality.

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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 Claire Noonan, Hsin-Fen Yang, Claire Simpson and Leila Mustafa for helping with data collection, Dr. Nyaz Didehbani and Dr. Michelle Kandalaft for assisting with clinical assessments, and Dr. Alice O’Toole and Cameron Siler for providing photography studio equipment. Finally, we greatly appreciate the helpful comments and suggestions provided by Dr. Candice Mills and Dr. Alice O’Toole on a previous version of this manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, GR41, Richardson, TX, 75080, USA

    Daniel J. Faso & Noah J. Sasson

  2. Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA

    Amy E. Pinkham

  3. University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, TX, USA

    Amy E. Pinkham

Authors
  1. Daniel J. Faso
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  2. Noah J. Sasson
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  3. Amy E. Pinkham
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Noah J. Sasson.

Appendix

Appendix

Fear

“During high school, I went on a band trip to New Orleans. On one of our days off, some friends and I went to Six Flags. I told my friends that I’d never been on a roller coaster before and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to, but eventually they nagged me until I gave in and got onto a coaster with them. I could feel my hands begin to sweat a little as I sat there waiting for the attendant to lock down the lap restraints, and when I looked at my lap I couldn’t help but skeptically think, “this is supposed to keep me safe?” My friends weren’t helping either, giving me a hard time and telling me stories about people who fell from this very coaster when their bar released as they were upside down. While I didn’t believe them completely, the thought of falling or something terrible happening kept running through my mind. I was startled by the initial jolt as the coaster began to move and I could almost hear my heart begin pounding faster. We climbed higher and higher up the track, the world around us growing smaller; it felt as if it would never end. The clicking of the track was a constant reminder of how high I actually was, and as the top of the hill neared, the fear of the fall was overwhelming. Suddenly, I began to plummet toward the earth and my stomach sank my knuckles turning white as I gripped the bar on my lap. The blur of track and sky rushed before my watering eyes, every sense in my body was on fire as the ground grew closer. But after the initial drop, all was well, and the rest of the ride wasn’t nearly as nerve racking.”

Sad

“One year, my husband John and I were attending his company Christmas party, just enjoying the night with our friends. John took the stage to make a speech and as I was sitting there listening, I received a phone call from my brother Luke. I stood up, and began making my way to the back of the hall as I excitedly answered the call. Luke’s wife Mary was pregnant and we had been expecting the baby any day, so I could only hope what the call was about. Mary and I were like sisters and when she first told me she was pregnant, it was one of the happiest times we shared. But when I heard Luke’s voice, my excitement was immediately extinguished. He said Lisa was in labor and the baby was coming, but they were having complications. He tried to reassure me that everything was going to be alright, but deep down I knew something was wrong. I tried to tuck myself away, pacing the back of the hall as my husband was speaking on stage. Less than an hour later Luke called again choking through sobs the words that still echo in my mind, “Mary didn’t make it.” I froze, dropped the phone, and fell to the floor unable to control my body. I was heaving on the ground, crying uncontrollably as a party guest ran to the stage to get my husband. He held my head and when I told him what happened, his blue eyes began pouring tears as well. I don’t know how long we sat there or how we got to the hospital, I just remember the thought of Mary being gone was too much. For a long time I was in shock and devastated from the loss, but we all felt blessed that her baby boy was alive and healthy.”

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Faso, D.J., Sasson, N.J. & Pinkham, A.E. Evaluating Posed and Evoked Facial Expressions of Emotion from Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 45, 75–89 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-014-2194-7

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