Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Conscious and Non-conscious Representations of Emotional Faces in Asperger's Syndrome
Published on: July 31, 2016
Can gaze avoidance explain why individuals with Asperger's syndrome can't recognise emotions from facial expressions?
Alyssa C P Sawyer1, Paul Williamson, Robyn L Young
1School of Psychology, Flinders University, G.P.O. Box 2100, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia.
Abstract:
Research has shown that individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have difficulties recognising emotions from facial expressions. Since eye contact is important for accurate emotion recognition, and individuals with ASD tend to avoid eye contact, this tendency for gaze aversion has been proposed as an explanation for the emotion recognition deficit. This explanation was investigated using a newly developed emotion and mental state recognition task. Individuals with Asperger's Syndrome were less accurate at recognising emotions and mental states, but did not show evidence of gaze avoidance compared to individuals without Asperger's Syndrome. This suggests that the way individuals with Asperger's Syndrome look at faces cannot account for the difficulty they have recognising expressions.
Related Concept Videos
Prosopagnosia
Visual Agnosia
Facial Feedback Hypothesis
Autism Spectrum Disorder
These core symptoms manifest differently among individuals, ranging from mild to severe. The disorder's complexity extends beyond its clinical presentation, encompassing a diverse range of biological, cognitive, and sociocultural influences.
Association Areas of the Cortex
Prefrontal Association Area: This area is located in the frontal lobe and is involved in planning, decision-making, and moderating social behavior. It connects with primary motor areas,...
Emotional Expression
Universal Facial Expressions
Psychologist Paul Ekman identified seven basic...

