Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-14T17:13:52.906Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Compensation in autism is not consistent with social motivation theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 July 2019

Lucy Anne Livingston Open the ORCID record for Lucy Anne Livingston [Opens in a new window] ,
Punit Shah Open the ORCID record for Punit Shah [Opens in a new window]  and
Francesca Happé
Lucy Anne Livingston
Affiliation:
Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom. lucy.livingston@kcl.ac.ukfrancesca.happe@kcl.ac.uk
Punit Shah
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, United Kingdom. p.shah@bath.ac.ukwww.punitqshah.com
Francesca Happé
Affiliation:
Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom. lucy.livingston@kcl.ac.ukfrancesca.happe@kcl.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Growing evidence, as presented by Jaswal & Akhtar, indicates that social motivation is not universally reduced in autism. Here, we evaluate and extend this argument in light of recent evidence of “compensation” in autism. We thereby argue that autistic “compensators” – exhibiting neurotypical behaviour despite persistent difficulties in social cognition – indicate intact or potentially heightened social motivation in autism.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 42 , 2019 , e99
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Cassidy, S., Bradley, L., Shaw, R. & Baron-Cohen, S. (2018) Risk markers for suicidality in autistic adults. Molecular Autism 9(1):42.Google Scholar
Chevallier, C., Kohls, G., Troiani, V., Brodkin, E. S. & Schultz, R. T. (2012a) The social motivation theory of autism. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 16(4):231–39. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2012.02.007.Google Scholar
Dean, M., Harwood, R. & Kasari, C. (2017) The art of camouflage: Gender differences in the social behaviors of girls and boys with autism spectrum disorder. Autism 21:678–89.Google Scholar
Harris, R. L. (2015) My autistic awakening: Unlocking the potential for a life well lived. Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
Hull, L., Petrides, K. V., Allison, C., Smith, P., Baron-Cohen, S., Lai, M. C. & Mandy, W. (2017) “Putting on my best normal”: Social camouflaging in adults with autism spectrum conditions. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 47(8):2519–34.Google Scholar
Johnson, M. H. (2017) Autism as an adaptive common variant pathway for human brain development. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience 25:5–11.Google Scholar
Lai, M. C., Lombardo, M. V., Ruigrok, A. N., Chakrabarti, B., Auyeung, B., Szatmari, P., Happé, F., Baron-Cohen, S. & MRC AIMS Consortium. (2017) Quantifying and exploring camouflaging in men and women with autism. Autism 21(6):690–702.Google Scholar
Livingston, L. A., Colvert, E., Social Relationships Study Team, Bolton, P. & Happé, F. (2019) Good social skills despite poor theory of mind: exploring compensation in autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 60(1):102–10. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.12886.Google Scholar
Livingston, L. A. & Happé, F. (2017) Conceptualising compensation in neurodevelopmental disorders: Reflections from autism spectrum disorder. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 80:729–42.Google Scholar
Lord, C., Risi, S., Lambrecht, L., Cook, E. H., Leventhal, B. L., DiLavore, P. C., Pickles, A. & Rutter, M. (2000) The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Generic: A standard measure of social and communication deficits associated with the spectrum of autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 30:205–23.Google Scholar
Tierney, S., Burns, J. & Kilbey, E. (2016) Looking behind the mask: Social coping strategies of girls on the autistic spectrum. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders 23:73–83.Google Scholar