Persons With Autism: How Bias Thoughts Affect Their Social Interactions

The negative first impressions of social partners of people under the autism spectrum could mar their experiences. This was the findings of a study participated in by people who did not belong to the autism spectrum. The participants were asked to view videos of people with autism and their social interaction.

It was found out that the participants rated people with autism and those without autism in the same way when it comes to intelligence and trustworthiness, Those under the autism spectrum, however, got a less favorable rating in terms of traits necessary in connecting with people such as awkwardness and likeability.

"Our study provides evidence that the social difficulties faced by people with autism are exacerbated by how they are perceived by other people," Dr. Noah Sasson, associate professor of the UT Dallas School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, said. His team's findings were published in the journal Nature.

The participants were reluctant about interacting with those who belong to the autism spectrum, according to the Science Daily. Sasson said the social difficulties experienced by people under the autism spectrum is also a result of the reactions and judgments made by people who are not autistic.

Sasson said their findings show the gravity of the difficulties faced by people under the autism spectrum, in a variety of social interactions. Simply said, those with autism might be challenged by lesser social opportunities. Bias can affect people's perception of people with autism, but interaction can help change this prejudice.

A person may think he is not biased against those under the autism spectrum, according to LA Times. University of Montreal's Dr. Laurent Mottron, however, said most people, even doctors like him, do have this prejudice against people with autism, regardless of what they think.

Mottron managed to do away with this bias and now has persons with autism working in his laboratory. Learn more about interacting and understanding those with autism in this video below.