Symmetry detection in autistic adults benefits from local processing in a contour integration task

Subri, Sabrina and Palumbo, Letizia and Gowen, Emma (2023) Symmetry detection in autistic adults benefits from local processing in a contour integration task. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. ISSN 0162-3257

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Abstract

Symmetry studies in autism are inconclusive possibly due to different types of stimuli used which depend on either local or global cues. Therefore, this study compared symmetry detection between 20 autistic and 18 non-autistic adults matched on age, IQ, gender and handedness, using contour integration tasks containing open and closed contours that rely more on local or global processing respectively. Results showed that the autistic group performed equally well with both stimuli and outperformed the non-autistic group only for the open contours, possibly due to a different strategy used in detecting symmetry. However, there were no group differences for the closed contour. Results explain discrepant findings in previous symmetry studies suggesting that symmetry tasks that favour a local strategy may be advantageous for autistic individuals. Implications of the findings towards understanding visual sensory issues in this group are discussed.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Autism, Vision, Symmetry, Sensory issues, Local processing
Faculty / Department:	Faculty of Human and Digital Sciences > School of Psychology
Depositing User:	Letizia Palumbo
Date Deposited:	12 Sep 2023 08:08
Last Modified:	28 Jun 2024 11:46
URI:	https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/4013

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