Evaluation of the Social Attention Hypothesis: Do Children with Autism Prefer to See Objects Rather than People?

A growing body of research shows that children with autism exhibit selective limitations in their ability to direct their visual attention to social stimuli. The cause of this selective limitation, however, remains unknown. The main purpose of this study is to determine whether the limitations in so...

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Publicado en:Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders Vol. 56; no. 4; pp. 1339 - 1354
Autores principales: Akin-Bulbul, Isik, Ozdemir, Selda
Formato: pictorial research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Springer Nature Apr2026
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: Apr2026
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      pub: Springer Nature
      place: New York, New York
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        10.1007/s10803-024-06596-9
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        atl: Evaluation of the Social Attention Hypothesis: Do Children with Autism Prefer to See Objects Rather than People?
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          Akin-Bulbul, Isik
          Ozdemir, Selda
        affil: https://ror.org/04kwvgz42 Hacettepe Education Faculty, Department of Special Education, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
      sug:
        subj:
          Attention Evaluation
          Patient Preference
          Autism Spectrum Disorder In Infancy and Childhood
          Play and Playthings
          Sensation
          Human
          Child, Preschool
          Infant
          Male
          Female
          Videorecording
          Language Tests
          Turkiye
          Autism Spectrum Disorder Risk Factors
          Paradigms
          Eye Movements Equipment and Supplies
          Software
          Calibration
          Multivariate Analysis of Variance
          Repeated Measures
          Post Hoc Analysis
          Time Factors
          Clinical Assessment Tools
          Checklists
          Child, Preschool: 2-5 years
          Infant: 1-23 months
          Male
          Female
      ab: A growing body of research shows that children with autism exhibit selective limitations in their ability to direct their visual attention to social stimuli. The cause of this selective limitation, however, remains unknown. The main purpose of this study is to determine whether the limitations in social attention are influenced by the objects in the environment. Specifically, the study examines the differences in visual attention between children with autism and typically developing (TD) children as they view videos of social interactions under two conditions, with and without objects. The sample consisted of 53 children with autism and 74 TD children, aged between 18 and 36 months. The findings indicated that young children with autism exhibited differences in their social attention compared to their TD peers. The results revealed that the presence of objects did not affect the visual attention differences between the two groups. However, removing objects from the environment positively impacted the social attention of both groups. In the condition without objects, both groups directed more visual attention more toward the Face and Body Areas of Interests (AoIs), whereas in the condition with objects, both groups prioritized looking at the Toy AoI. These findings have important implications for evidence-based decision-making, especially in designing early intervention environments for children with autism.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        pictorial
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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