No preference for direct versus averted gaze in autistic adults: a reinforced preferential looking paradigm.
Elise Clin, Pauline Maes, Fanny Stercq and 1 others
PMID 33208193WHAT IT FOUND
Autistic adults showed no preference for looking at mouths over eyes.
They also did not distinguish between direct and averted gaze, unlike neurotypical adults who preferred direct gaze. Reduced attention to the eye region was linked to higher alexithymia scores, not autism diagnosis alone.
Key findings
01Autistic participants fixated less on the eye region than neurotypical participants but did not show a preference for the mouth region.
02Neurotypical participants preferred looking at faces with direct gaze, while autistic participants showed no preference for direct versus averted gaze.
03Higher alexithymia scores predicted fewer fixations on the eye region in autistic participants and fewer fixations on direct gaze stimuli in both groups.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study used video stimuli rather than live interaction, which may not reflect real-world social attention. The autistic group had significantly higher rates of alexithymia and social anxiety than the neurotypical group, making it hard to separate these traits from autism. Participants were all verbally fluent with average to high IQs, so results may not apply to autistic adults with intellectual disabilities or limited speech. The lack of preference for direct gaze in autistic adults could be due to reduced attention to the eye region rather than an inability to distinguish gaze directions.
Declared interests
Funded by the Fonds De La Recherche Scientifique - FNRS, Fondation Roger de Spoelberch, Programme FIRST Spin-off de Wallonie (BE), and Fondation Francqui (BE).
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that autistic adults find mouths more interesting than eyes. The study found they look less at eyes overall but do not shift their attention to the mouth. Additionally, do not attribute reduced eye contact solely to autism; alexithymia scores were a strong predictor of reduced attention to the eye region.