Collaboration Variability in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Science
• Neurodevelopmental Disorders
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by social communication differences and restricted, repetitive behaviors.
• Predictive processing, crucial for social interaction and collaboration, may be impaired in individuals with ASD.
• Understanding behavioral adaptation during collaboration is key to identifying social interaction challenges in ASD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between predictive processing impairments and collaborative behavior in young adults with ASD.
• To compare the behavioral adaptation of autistic and neurotypical individuals during a collaborative task with a synthetic agent.

Main Methods:

• Developed a novel collaborative task where participants partnered with a synthetic agent to achieve a high score.
• The agent's behavior dynamically changed, necessitating participants to model sensorimotor contingencies for effective collaboration.
• Behavioral adaptation and self-reported collaboration experiences were assessed in 15 autistic and 15 neurotypical young adults.

Main Results:

• Significant differences were observed in behavioral adaptation between autistic and neurotypical participants during the collaborative task.
• Autistic individuals exhibited distinct patterns of adaptation when interacting with the changing agent.
• No significant differences were found in self-reported collaboration experiences between the two groups.

Conclusions:

• Impaired prediction in young adults with ASD impacts their observable collaborative behaviors.
• Behavioral adaptation during collaboration may be an objective marker for social interaction differences in ASD.
• Subjective self-reports may not fully capture the objective behavioral differences in collaboration experienced by individuals with ASD.