Shifts in Behavioral Synchrony in Response to an Interaction Partner’s Distress in Adolescents With and Without ASD

Zadok, Ester; Gordon, Ilanit; Navon, Roni; Rabin, Shai Joseph; Golan, Ofer

doi:10.1007/s10803-021-05307-y

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 87 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Eight papers used observational or manual-coding methods to measure synchrony ( Dvir et al, 2020 ; Griffioen et al, 2020 ; Kaur et al, 2018 ; Koehne et al, 2016 ; Manders et al, 2021 ; Venuti et al, 2017 ; Zadok et al, 2022 ; Zampella et al, 2020 ). These methods included, for example, observational coding tools ( Dvir et al, 2020 ; Venuti et al, 2017 ), manual coding of each partner’s behaviour, noting the start and finish of synchronous movements ( Griffioen et al, 2020 ; Kaur et al, 2018 ), and behaviour ratings from naïve coders ( Koehne et al, 2016 ; Manders et al, 2021 ; Zadok et al, 2022 ; Zampella et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This included some spontaneous tasks that were mechanical in nature, such as interpersonal handclapping ( Fitzpatrick et al, 2017b ; Romero et al, 2016 ), puzzle-making ( Delaherche et al, 2013 ), or joint improvisation ( Brezis et al, 2017 ). However, other spontaneous tasks reflected naturalistic scenarios, including conversation tasks ( Georgescu et al, 2020 ; Noel et al, 2017 ; Zadok et al, 2022 ; Zampella et al, 2020 ), diagnostic interviews ( Koehler et al, 2022 ), or reading ( Liu et al, 2022 ). Parents and infants of 14 months with SIBS-ASC also showed lower SMS with one another than parents and infants of 14 months with SIBS-NT did ( Yirmiya et al, 2006 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Social motor synchrony in autism spectrum conditions: A systematic review

Glass,

Yuill

2023

Autism

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Some researchers suggest difficulties synchronising with a partner could underpin the social differences associated with Autism Spectrum Condition, potentially acting as a marker for autism. Social Motor Synchrony (SMS) is one aspect of synchrony that could augment observational diagnostic procedures. However, the full breadth of literature examining SMS in autism has not been systematically reviewed. A systematic review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis guidelines yielded 29 papers meeting inclusion criteria. Of 21 studies including a comparison group, all indicated weaker SMS between two autistic partners and in mixed-neurotype partnerships compared with two non-autistic partners. Papers involving mixed-neurotype pairs without a comparison group showed higher than chance SMS and demonstrated an increase in SMS over time following rhythm-based interventions. Although research so far demonstrates weaker SMS in pairs involving an autistic partner compared with non-autistic pairs, we identified several limitations which may have influenced SMS in autistic people and their partners. Further work is needed with autistic partnerships, more natural and preferred tasks within comfortable settings and partnerships, and more work to identify the basis of synchrony differences. We set out implications for design of further research. Lay abstract When two people interact, they often fall into sync with one another by moving their bodies at the same time. Some say autistic people are not as good as non-autistic people at moving at the same time as a partner. This has led some researchers to ask whether measuring synchrony might help diagnose autism. We reviewed the research so far to look at differences in Social Motor Synchrony (SMS) (the way we move together) between autistic people and people they interact with. The research suggests that interactions involving an autistic partner (either two autistic partners, or an autistic and non-autistic partner) show lower synchrony than a non-autistic pair. However, we recognised elements in the research so far that may have affected SMS in interactions involving an autistic person. One way SMS may have been affected in research so far might be the way interactions have been set up in the research studies. Few papers studied interactions between two autistic people or looked at synchrony in comfortable environments with autistic-preferred tasks. The studies also do not explain why synchrony might be different, or weaker, in pairs involving autistic partners. We use these limitations to suggest improvements for future research.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social motor synchrony in autism spectrum conditions: A systematic review

Glass,

Yuill

2023

Autism

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Extensive research has focused on exploring possible underlying mechanisms for the social disparities exhibited by autistic individuals. These studies suggest varying mentalizing and emotion recognition processes (Fridenson‐Hayo et al, 2016; Golan et al, 2007), as well as reduced behavioral synchrony with neurotypical (NT) social partners (Zadok et al, 2022; Zampella et al, 2020) compared to interactions with autistic individuals (Crompton et al, 2020). These differences are thought to underlie the variations in social behavior often observed among autistic individuals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autonomic nervous system responses to social stimuli among autistic individuals: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Zadok,

Golan,

Lavidor

et al. 2023

Autism Research

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Physiological responses to environmental and social stimuli have been studied broadly in relation to psychological states and processes. This may be especially important regarding autistic individuals, who show disparities in social interactions. However, findings from studies assessing autonomic nervous system (ANS) responses of autistic individuals present contradictions, with reports showing both autonomic disparities and intact autonomic functioning. The current study aimed to review the existing literature and to estimate if there is a difference between autistic individuals and neurotypical (NT) individuals in their autonomic responses to social stimuli. Furthermore, the study examined factors that may moderate this difference, including the type of physiological function measured, the level of participation required, as well as the age and intellectual functioning of the participants. The meta‐analysis revealed a small and statistically insignificant overall difference between autistic and NT individuals, albeit with high heterogeneity. A further nested moderator analysis revealed a significant difference between autistic and NT individuals in physiological response that reflects mainly a parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity. Another difference was found in physiological response that reflects a combined activity of the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, but only for experimental tasks that demanded active participation in social interactions. These results suggest a distinctiveness in autonomic regulation of autistic individuals in social situations, and point to the PNS as an important study objective for future investigation.

show abstract

Smiling synchronization predicts interaction enjoyment in peer dyads of autistic and neurotypical youth

McNaughton,

Moss,

Yarger

et al. 2024

Autism

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Autistic youth often experience challenges in interactions with neurotypical peers. One factor that may influence successful interactions with peers is interpersonal synchrony, or the degree to which interacting individuals align their behaviors (e.g. facial expressions) over time. Autistic and neurotypical youth were paired together into three dyad types: autistic participants paired with autistic participants (AUT-AUT), autistic participants paired with neurotypical participants (AUT-NT), and neurotypical participants with neurotypical participants (NT-NT). Dyads participated in a free conversation task and a video-watching task. We tested whether smiling synchronization differed between AUT-AUT, AUT-NT, and NT-NT dyads. We further tested if smiling synchronization predicted youth-reported interaction enjoyment. AUT-NT dyads had significantly reduced smiling synchronization compared with NT-NT dyads. Smiling synchronization also predicted multiple aspects of participant-rated interaction enjoyment, such as the desire to interact with the peer partner again, above and beyond the overall amount of smiling in the interaction. These findings indicate links between smiling synchronization and interaction enjoyment for autistic and neurotypical youth. Identifying opportunities to synchronize or share positive affect in interactions may promote more enjoyable interactions for both autistic and neurotypical youth. Lay abstract For autistic and neurotypical youth, having positive social interactions with other youth is an important part of well-being. Other researchers have found that one factor that can make people feel like social interactions have gone well is synchronization. Synchronization happens when peoples’ body movements and facial expressions align while they’re interacting. We focus on smiling synchronization here because other studies have found that when neurotypical individuals synchronize their smiles more in a social interaction, they say they enjoy that social interaction more. However, no studies have directly tested whether smiling synchrony influences social interaction enjoyment in autistic and neurotypical youth. We measured smiling synchrony in pairs of interacting autistic and neurotypical youth who were meeting each other for the first time. Some pairs were autistic youth interacting with other autistic youth (autistic with autistic participant pairs), some pairs were autistic youth interacting with neurotypical youth (autistic with neurotypical participant pairs), and other pairs were neurotypical youth interacting with neurotypical youth (neurotypical with neurotypical participant pairs). We found that autistic with neurotypical participant pairs had lower smiling synchrony than neurotypical with neurotypical participant pairs. Youth who were in dyads that had more smiling synchrony said they enjoyed interacting with their partner more and that they wanted to interact with their partner again. Our research shows that smiling synchrony is one part of interactions between autistic and neurotypical youth that influences how well youth say the interaction went. Identifying natural opportunities for autistic and neurotypical youth to share positive feelings could be one way to promote positive social interactions between autistic and neurotypical youth.

show abstract

Shifts in Behavioral Synchrony in Response to an Interaction Partner’s Distress in Adolescents With and Without ASD

Cited by 3 publications

References 87 publications

Social motor synchrony in autism spectrum conditions: A systematic review

Social motor synchrony in autism spectrum conditions: A systematic review

Autonomic nervous system responses to social stimuli among autistic individuals: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Smiling synchronization predicts interaction enjoyment in peer dyads of autistic and neurotypical youth

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About