The psychophysiological effects of ostracism in Autism Spectrum Disorder
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1
University of New South Wales, School of Psychology, Australia
Aims: Little is known about how adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience the effects of ostracism. However, these individuals commonly experience such negative and potentially distressing treatment. This study examined the psychological and physiological effects of ostracism in these individuals. Method: Nine individuals aged 16 or older (9 males; 33.67 years) with a diagnosis of ASD and 11 matched controls (6 males, 26 years) participated in a pretend online game of ball tossing, Cyberball. Each participant played one game in which they were excluded from the game and another in which they were included. Whilst playing, participants’ arousal level was monitored via skin conductance (SCL). Participants were also required to complete a self-report questionnaire about their experience after both games. Results: Individuals with ASD showed increased arousal compared with controls (p = .05), both when excluded and included. Both groups showed greater SCL to being ostracized than when included (p = .001). Furthermore, individuals with ASD did not demonstrate a reduction in arousal over the course of the game, as controls did. Psychological responses indicated that individuals with ASD did not differ in their perception of having their needs fulfilled or in their mood after playing the game. Conclusions: The present findings suggest that individuals with ASD were more engaged in the game than controls, regardless of whether they were included or excluded. They demonstrated higher arousal throughout the game than controls, but appeared to interpret negative feelings of exclusion and ostracism in a similar way to the control group.
Keywords:
ostracism,
Austism Spectum Disorder,
Arousal,
Skin conductance response,
cyberball
Conference:
ASP2013 - 23rd Annual meeting of the Australasian Society for Psychophysiology, Wollongong, Australia, 20 Nov - 22 Nov, 2013.
Presentation Type:
Oral Presentation
Topic:
Emotion
Citation:
Trimmer
E,
McDonald
S,
Mathersul
D and
Rushby
JA
(2013). The psychophysiological effects of ostracism in Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Conference Abstract:
ASP2013 - 23rd Annual meeting of the Australasian Society for Psychophysiology.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2013.213.00004
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Received:
04 Nov 2013;
Published Online:
05 Nov 2013.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Jacqueline A Rushby, University of New South Wales, School of Psychology, Sydney, NSW, 2013, Australia, j.rushby@unsw.edu.au