THE DEVELOPMENT OF EMOTIONAL CONCEPTS IN AUTISM

Forty-one high-functioning individuals with autism between the ages of 7 and 36 and an age and intelligence matched comparison group were investigated in their ability to recognise emotions in photographs. A colour identification task served as control condition. The autistic group was significantly impaired on the emotions task only. There was no substantial difference between groups in the structures underlying their emotional concepts (pleasantness and arousal). However, there is a trend for the autistic group to rely on other strategies in the recognition of emotions than the comparison group. These strategies may be insufficient in the appreciation of facial expressions.