Brief research report: autistic traits modulate the rapid detection of punishment-associated neutral faces
Speedy detection of faces with emotional value plays a fundamental role in social interactions. A few previous studies using a visual search paradigm have reported that individuals with high autistic traits (ATs), who are characterized by deficits in social interactions, demonstrated decreased detec...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-11-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1284739/full |
| _version_ | 1797491022999060480 |
|---|---|
| author | Akie Saito Wataru Sato Wataru Sato Sakiko Yoshikawa Sakiko Yoshikawa |
| author_facet | Akie Saito Wataru Sato Wataru Sato Sakiko Yoshikawa Sakiko Yoshikawa |
| author_sort | Akie Saito |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Speedy detection of faces with emotional value plays a fundamental role in social interactions. A few previous studies using a visual search paradigm have reported that individuals with high autistic traits (ATs), who are characterized by deficits in social interactions, demonstrated decreased detection performance for emotional facial expressions. However, whether ATs modulate the rapid detection of faces with emotional value remains inconclusive because emotional facial expressions involve salient visual features (i.e., a U-shaped mouth in a happy expression) that can facilitate visual attention. In order to disentangle the effects of visual factors from the rapid detection of emotional faces, we examined the rapid detection of neutral faces associated with emotional value among young adults with varying degrees of ATs in a visual search task. In the experiment, participants performed a learning task wherein neutral faces were paired with monetary reward, monetary punishment, or no monetary outcome, such that the neutral faces acquired positive, negative, or no emotional value, respectively. During the subsequent visual search task, previously learned neutral faces were presented as discrepant faces among newly presented neutral distractor faces, and the participants were asked to detect the discrepant faces. The results demonstrated a significant negative association between the degrees of ATs and an advantage in detecting punishment-associated neutral faces. This indicates the decreased detection of faces with negative value in individuals with higher ATs, which may contribute to their difficulty in making prompt responses in social situations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:41:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-aade2abaf6a049f097afc6c4d049dad0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:41:28Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-aade2abaf6a049f097afc6c4d049dad02023-11-23T15:07:06ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782023-11-011410.3389/fpsyg.2023.12847391284739Brief research report: autistic traits modulate the rapid detection of punishment-associated neutral facesAkie Saito0Wataru Sato1Wataru Sato2Sakiko Yoshikawa3Sakiko Yoshikawa4Psychological Process Research Team, Guardian Robot Project, RIKEN, Kyoto, JapanPsychological Process Research Team, Guardian Robot Project, RIKEN, Kyoto, JapanField Science Education and Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, JapanField Science Education and Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, JapanFaculty of Art and Design, Kyoto University of the Arts, Uryuuzan, Kyoto, JapanSpeedy detection of faces with emotional value plays a fundamental role in social interactions. A few previous studies using a visual search paradigm have reported that individuals with high autistic traits (ATs), who are characterized by deficits in social interactions, demonstrated decreased detection performance for emotional facial expressions. However, whether ATs modulate the rapid detection of faces with emotional value remains inconclusive because emotional facial expressions involve salient visual features (i.e., a U-shaped mouth in a happy expression) that can facilitate visual attention. In order to disentangle the effects of visual factors from the rapid detection of emotional faces, we examined the rapid detection of neutral faces associated with emotional value among young adults with varying degrees of ATs in a visual search task. In the experiment, participants performed a learning task wherein neutral faces were paired with monetary reward, monetary punishment, or no monetary outcome, such that the neutral faces acquired positive, negative, or no emotional value, respectively. During the subsequent visual search task, previously learned neutral faces were presented as discrepant faces among newly presented neutral distractor faces, and the participants were asked to detect the discrepant faces. The results demonstrated a significant negative association between the degrees of ATs and an advantage in detecting punishment-associated neutral faces. This indicates the decreased detection of faces with negative value in individuals with higher ATs, which may contribute to their difficulty in making prompt responses in social situations.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1284739/fullautistic traitsautismvisual searchneutral facesemotional valuelearning |
| spellingShingle | Akie Saito Wataru Sato Wataru Sato Sakiko Yoshikawa Sakiko Yoshikawa Brief research report: autistic traits modulate the rapid detection of punishment-associated neutral faces Frontiers in Psychology autistic traits autism visual search neutral faces emotional value learning |
| title | Brief research report: autistic traits modulate the rapid detection of punishment-associated neutral faces |
| title_full | Brief research report: autistic traits modulate the rapid detection of punishment-associated neutral faces |
| title_fullStr | Brief research report: autistic traits modulate the rapid detection of punishment-associated neutral faces |
| title_full_unstemmed | Brief research report: autistic traits modulate the rapid detection of punishment-associated neutral faces |
| title_short | Brief research report: autistic traits modulate the rapid detection of punishment-associated neutral faces |
| title_sort | brief research report autistic traits modulate the rapid detection of punishment associated neutral faces |
| topic | autistic traits autism visual search neutral faces emotional value learning |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1284739/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT akiesaito briefresearchreportautistictraitsmodulatetherapiddetectionofpunishmentassociatedneutralfaces AT watarusato briefresearchreportautistictraitsmodulatetherapiddetectionofpunishmentassociatedneutralfaces AT watarusato briefresearchreportautistictraitsmodulatetherapiddetectionofpunishmentassociatedneutralfaces AT sakikoyoshikawa briefresearchreportautistictraitsmodulatetherapiddetectionofpunishmentassociatedneutralfaces AT sakikoyoshikawa briefresearchreportautistictraitsmodulatetherapiddetectionofpunishmentassociatedneutralfaces |