Abstract
Difficulties in processing emotional facial expressions is considered a central characteristic of children with autism spectrum condition (ASC). In addition, there is a growing interest in the use of virtual avatars capable of expressing emotions as an intervention aimed at improving the social skills of these individuals. One potential use of avatars is that they could enhance facial recognition and guide attention. However, this aspect needs further investigation. The aim of our study is to assess differences in eye gaze processes in children with ASC when they see avatar faces expressing emotions compared to real faces. Eye-tracking methodology was used to compare the performance of children with ASC between avatar and real faces. A repeated-measures general linear model was adopted to understand which characteristics of the stimuli could influence the stimuli’s fixation times. Survival analysis was performed to understand differences in exploration behaviour between avatar and real faces. Differences between emotion recognition accuracy and the number of fixations were evaluated through a paired t-test. Our results confirm that children with autism have higher capacities to process and recognize emotions when these are presented by avatar faces. Children with autism are more attracted to the mouth or the eyes depending on the stimulus type (avatar or real) and the emotion expressed by the stimulus. Also, they are more attracted to avatar faces expressing negative emotions (anger and sadness), and to real faces expressing surprise. Differences were not found regarding happiness. Finally, they show a higher degree of exploration of avatar faces. All these elements, such as interest in the avatar and reduced attention to the eyes, can offer important elements in planning an efficient intervention.
Highlights
Individuals with autism spectrum condition (ASC) are characterized by difficulty in recognizing and responding to emotions conveyed by the face; their main difficulty is responding appropriately to the emotions of other people (Cassidy et al, 2016)
We find a significant difference between the avatar emotion recognition score and the real emotion recognition score (t (28) = 2.36; p = .02), where the accuracy for avatar stimuli (M = 5.42, SD = 1.07) was greater than that for real stimuli (M = 4.84, SD = 1.01), showing a medium effect size (Cohen’s d = .54)
With regard to the interaction between stimulus type, emotion and AOI, we found that total fixation duration (TFD) on real faces was higher on eyes (Mdif = .810, SE = .137, p < .001) and the mouth (Mdif = .222, SE = .056, p < .001) when the emotion was surprise; by contrast, TFD was higher for avatar faces on eyes when the emotion was sadness (Mdif = −.525, SE = .107, p < .001) and on the mouth when the emotion was anger (Mdif = −.299, SE = .104, p = .007)
Summary
Individuals with autism spectrum condition (ASC) are characterized by difficulty in recognizing and responding to emotions conveyed by the face; their main difficulty is responding appropriately to the emotions of other people (Cassidy et al, 2016). We know that subjects with ASC placed in front of emotion-expressing faces show altered eye patterns compared to controls with little interest in social stimuli such as eyes (Reisinger et al, 2020; Tsang, 2018). Some studies have suggested different visual patterns in the exploration of faces depending on the emotion presented, with one study finding that children with ASC, to controls, look at their eyes for longer when viewing negative emotions (de Wit et al, 2008). One study found an influence of the gender of the person expressing the emotion (Lambrecht et al, 2014) These studies show how many variables can affect recognition and visual patterns when participants are asked to recognize the emotion on the presented face
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