Autistic Adults May Be Erroneously Perceived as Deceptive and Lacking Credibility

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neurodiversity Studies
• Social Perception

Background:

• Autistic adults may exhibit behaviors (e.g., gaze aversion, repetitive movements) that differ from neurotypical communication styles.
• These atypical behaviors could lead to misinterpretations of truthfulness and credibility by others.
• Understanding these social perception biases is crucial for improving interactions and reducing stigma.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether autistic adults are perceived as less credible or more deceptive than neurotypical adults.
• To examine if specific autistic behaviors influence these perceptions of truthfulness.
• To determine the factors contributing to biased judgments of autistic individuals' credibility.

Main Methods:

• Video-recorded interviews were conducted with autistic and neurotypical adults.
• Specific autistic behaviors (gaze aversion, repetitive movements, literal interpretation, poor reciprocity, flat affect) were measured.
• A large group of participants (N=1410) rated the truthfulness and credibility of individuals in the videos.

Main Results:

• Autistic individuals were perceived as more deceptive and less credible than neurotypical individuals when presenting truthful information.
• The hypothesis was partially supported, indicating a bias against autistic adults.
• This bias was not significantly linked to the presence of specific target autistic behaviors but rather to the individual's overall presentation.

Conclusions:

• Autistic adults face challenges in perceived credibility, potentially due to societal biases rather than specific behaviors.
• Overall presentation, encompassing subtle cues beyond targeted behaviors, significantly impacts judgments of truthfulness.
• Further research and awareness are needed to address these social perception biases and promote accurate assessments of autistic individuals.