First Impressions Towards Autistic People: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Emerging evidence suggests that observers tend to form less favorable first impressions toward autistic people than toward non-autistic people. These negative impressions may be associated with immediate behavioral responses, as well as long-lasting attitudes toward those being observed that may negatively impact their psychosocial wellbeing. This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesized the existing literature that has compared first impressions toward autistic and non-autistic people to investigate whether first impressions are influenced by: (1) type of first impression measure, (2) modality of stimulus presentation, and (3) characteristics of the observers and/or stimulus participants. Key inclusion criteria were: (1) one or more groups of observers provided first impression ratings, (2) the stimuli were presented in either audio-only, video-only, audio-video, still image, or speech transcript format, and (3) first impressions toward autistic and non-autistic individuals were compared. A systematic search identified a final sample of 21 articles, which included 221 effects for analyses. Findings showed that first impressions were generally less favorable for autistic compared to non-autistic people across all presentation modalities other than speech transcript, with effect sizes typically moderate to large. Differences in first impressions toward autistic and non-autistic people were generally more pronounced for ratings of interpersonal attraction and social and communication presentation, rather than for ratings of psychological and personality traits. There was also some evidence that characteristics of non-autistic observers, such as autism knowledge and quality of contact with autistic people, impact first impressions. These findings provide insight into the critical role first impressions play in influencing social interaction between autistic and non-autistic individuals.