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Emotional contagion in children with autism spectrum disorder varies with stimulus familiarity and task instructions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 March 2019

Molly S. Helt ,
Deborah A. Fein  and
Jacob E. Vargas
Molly S. Helt*
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience, Trinity College, Hartford, CT, USA
Deborah A. Fein
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
Jacob E. Vargas
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Trinity College, Hartford, CT, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Molly S. Helt, Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience, Trinity College, 300 Summit St., Hartford, CT01606; E-mail: molly.helt@trincoll.edu.
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Abstract

Although deficits in cognitive empathy are well established in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the literature on emotional empathy, or emotional contagion, in individuals with ASD is sparse and contradictory. The authors tested susceptibility to contagious yawning and laughter in children with ASD (n = 60) and typically developing (TD) children (n = 60), ages 5–17 years, under various conditions, to elucidate factors that may affect emotional contagion in these populations. Although TD children showed equal amounts of emotional contagion across conditions, children with ASD were highly influenced by the familiarity of the target stimulus, as well as task instructions that encourage eye gaze to target. More specifically, children with ASD exhibited less contagious yawning and laughter than their TD peers except when their attention was explicitly directed to the eyes or (and even more so) when their parents served as the stimulus targets. The authors explore the implications of these findings for theories about the mechanisms underlying empathic deficits in ASD as well as the clinical implications of having parents involved in treatment.

Keywords

autism spectrum disorderemotional contagionempathyparent–child interaction
Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 32 , Issue 1 , February 2020 , pp. 383 - 393
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019

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