Discrepancies between feeling and expressing: Perceptions of autistic and non-autistic emotional expressions by non-autistic observers.

Only 20 autistic and 20 non-autistic expressers were studied, and none had intellectual disability or were non-speaking, so the results may not apply to the full autism spectrum. The observers were 379 non-autistic adults who were mostly female college students and 49.9% Asian or Pacific Islander, so their responses may not represent other groups. Observers were selected for low autistic traits and no first-degree relative with autism, so they may not represent typical non-autistic adults. The task asked participants to re-experience autobiographical emotions rather than express them spontaneously, which may not match everyday communication. There was no neutral-expression condition, so the study could not directly test whether observers over-attribute negativity when no emotion is shown. Masking and alexithymia were not measured, and excluding 3 self-identifying autistic expressers changed one disclosure interaction.

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. They reported support from the UCLA Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health, but no funds from that grant were used in the execution of the project.

Do not conclude that autistic people feel emotions less strongly or have flat affect. The autistic and non-autistic expressers reported similar felt intensity, and observers often rated autistic expressions as more intense.