Social Motivation in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Mixed-Methods Exploration Using Eye-Tracking, Behavioral Tasks, Self- and Parent-Reports, and Qualitative Insights.
Social motivation diminishment is a core autism feature, yet prior research has been inconsistent, focusing on single dimensions and overlooking heterogeneity in motivational expressions among autistic individuals. This mixed-methods study compared social motivation in 104 individuals with autism (m...
| Publicado en: | Autism: The International Journal of Research & Practice Vol. 30; no. 7; pp. 1844 - 1863 |
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| Autores principales: | , |
| Formato: | pictorial research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
Sage Publications Inc.
Jul2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=194757305&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 194757305 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 13623613 F9D jtl: Autism: The International Journal of Research & Practice issn: 13623613 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Jul2026 vid: 30 iid: 7 pid: 344 pub: Sage Publications Inc. place: Thousand Oaks, California artinfo: ui: 194757305 194244031 194757305 194757305 10.1177/13623613261445631 194757305 ppf: 1844 ppct: 19 formats: tig: atl: Social Motivation in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Mixed-Methods Exploration Using Eye-Tracking, Behavioral Tasks, Self- and Parent-Reports, and Qualitative Insights. aug: au: Li, Jiaxi Shum, Kathy Kar-man affil: The University of Hong Kong, China sug: subj: Interpersonal Relations Evaluation Motivation Evaluation Autism Spectrum Disorder Psychosocial Factors Eye Movements Behavior Evaluation Task Performance and Analysis Self Report Parental Attitudes Caregiver Attitudes Friendship Social Participation Human Multimethod Studies Male Female Adolescence Young Adult Thematic Analysis Self Regulation Conceptual Framework Social Networking Goals and Objectives Correlational Studies Comparative Studies Children with Disabilities Schools, Secondary Colleges and Universities Multicenter Studies Students, High School Students, College Hong Kong China Neuropsychological Tests Communication Skills Scales Questionnaires Descriptive Statistics Data Analysis Software Analysis of Covariance Unpaired T-Tests Logistic Regression Chi Square Test Odds Ratio Confidence Intervals Severity of Illness Parent-Child Relations Adolescent: 13-18 years Male Female ab: Social motivation diminishment is a core autism feature, yet prior research has been inconsistent, focusing on single dimensions and overlooking heterogeneity in motivational expressions among autistic individuals. This mixed-methods study compared social motivation in 104 individuals with autism (male: 74, M age = 18.55 years) and 192 non-autistic peers (male: 101, M age = 16.65 years), using eye-tracking and behavioral tasks, self-/parent-reports, and qualitative analysis of open-ended responses. Quantitative analyses revealed autistic participants had lower self-determined motivation, driven by reduced intrinsic motivation and identified regulation. Parent-report results corroborated lower perceived social motivation in the autistic group. The eye-tracking task showed decreased orientation to social stimuli, and behavioral task indicated reduced willingness to exert effort for social rewards, with no significant associations with age or autistic trait. Qualitative data highlighted that despite challenges, many autistic participants valued friendship and sought connection through shared activities, often preferring compact, stable social networks. The group-level quantitative findings align with social motivation theory but underscore heterogeneity, showing that diminished social motivation in autism may stem from contextual challenges rather than uniform amotivation. This study advances the understanding of social motivation dynamics, emphasizing the need for inclusive assessments that recognize diverse motivational expressions and prioritize subjective experiences. Social motivation refers to how much people want to engage with others, notice social cues, and seek connections. Researchers have long debated whether autistic people's social challenges stem from lower social motivation. However, past studies often focused on only one aspect of social motivation and ignored individual differences among autistic people. We recruited 104 autistic and 192 non-autistic adolescents and young adults. Participants and their caregivers completed questionnaires about social motivation from their own and caregivers' perspectives. We used two behavioral tasks to measure how much attention participants devoted to social content, and how willing they were to exert effort for social rewards. Open-ended questions captured autistic participants' perspectives on friendship dynamics, social inclusion, and the meaning of social connection. We found that autistic participants reported lower social motivation, a finding supported by parent reports. They spent less time looking at social content and exerted less effort to obtain social rewards than non-autistic peers. However, their open-ended responses showed that they sought social connection through shared activities, preferred small and stable social networks, and found joy and belonging in close friendships, despite challenges such as the strain of social interaction. Our results can help professionals avoid misinterpreting autistic people's social behaviors, and help families and peers recognize autistic individuals' expressions of social interest, reducing unfair judgments and promoting more respectful interactions. In addition, these findings support the development of assessments and social programs that reflect autistic perspectives. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: pictorial research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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