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Autistic traits are associated with enhanced working memory capacity for abstract visual stimuli
Louise A Brown Nicholls1, Mary E Stewart2
1School of Psychological Sciences & Health, University of Strathclyde, 40 George Street, Glasgow, G1 1QE, UK.
Acta Psychologica
|April 22, 2023
Summary
Individuals with autistic traits show enhanced visual working memory capacity, particularly in tasks requiring focused visual attention. This benefit diminishes when other memory resources can supplement visual processing.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Background:
- Autistic traits are linked to enhanced visual-perceptual abilities.
- The extension of these benefits to visual working memory capacity is not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if autistic traits enhance visual working memory capacity.
- To determine if this enhancement is specific to domain-specific visual tasks.
Main Methods:
- 144 young adults completed a visual matrix task to assess working memory capacity.
- Task versions varied in semantic content to manipulate reliance on visual vs. multimodal resources.
- Participants also completed measures of autistic traits and trait anxiety.
Main Results:
- Autistic traits positively predicted visual working memory capacity in low-semantic (domain-specific) tasks.
- Specific autistic traits like Attention to Detail were key predictors.
- The benefit was absent in high-semantic tasks that allowed multimodal coding.
Conclusions:
- Autistic traits are associated with improved visual information processing and recall.
- Enhanced visual working memory in autism is domain-specific, relying on visual resources.
- Focused attention to detail may underlie these visual working memory advantages.
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