Nothing Special   »   [go: up one dir, main page]
Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Is There a Limit to the Superiority of Individuals with ASD in Visual Search?

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Superiority in visual search for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a well-reported finding. We administered two visual search tasks to individuals with ASD and matched controls. One showed no difference between the groups, and one did show the expected superior performance for individuals with ASD. These results offer an explanation, formulated in terms of load theory. We suggest that there is a limit to the superiority in visual search for individuals with ASD, related to the perceptual load of the stimuli. When perceptual load becomes so high that no additional task-(ir)relevant information can be processed, performance will be based on single stimulus identification, in which no differences between individuals with ASD and controls have been demonstrated.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Almeida, R. A., Dickinson, J. E., Maybery, M. T., Badcock, J. C., & Badcock, D. R. (2010). A new step towards understanding Embedded Figures Test performance in the autism spectrum: The radial frequency search task. Neuropsychologia, 48(2), 374–381. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2009.09.024.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bach, M. (1996). The Freiburg Visual Acuity Test-automatic measurement of visual acuity. Optometry and Vision Science, 73(1), 49.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baldassi, S., Pei, F., Megna, N., Recupero, G., Viespoli, M., Igliozzi, R., et al. (2009). Search superiority in autism within, but not outside the crowding regime. Vision Research, 49(16), 2151–2156. doi:10.1016/j.visres.2009.06.007.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Skinner, R., Martin, J., & Clubley, E. (2001). The autism-spectrum quotient (AQ): Evidence from asperger syndrome/high-functioning autism, malesand females, scientists and mathematicians. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31(1), 5–17. doi:10.1023/A:1005653411471.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bayliss, A. P., & Kritikos, A. (2010). Brief report: Perceptual load and the autism spectrum in typically developed individuals. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41(11), 1573–1578. doi:10.1007/s10803-010-1159-8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertone, A., Mottron, L., Jelenic, P., & Faubert, J. (2005). Enhanced and diminished visuo-spatial information processing in autism depends on stimulus complexity. Brain, 128, 2430–2441. doi:10.1093/brain/awh561.

    Google Scholar 

  • Constable, P. A., Solomon, J. A., Gaigg, S. B., & Bowler, D. M. (2010). Crowding and visual search in high functioning adults with autism spectrum disorder. Clinical Optometry, 93. doi:10.2147/OPTO.S11476.

  • Dakin, S., & Frith, U. (2005). Vagaries of visual perception in autism. Neuron, 48(3), 497–507. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2005.10.018.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • De Jonge, M. V., Kemner, C., de Haan, E. H., Coppens, J. E., van den Berg, T. J. T. P., & van Engeland, H. (2007). Visual information processing in high-functioning individuals with autism spectrum disorders and their parents. Neuropsychology, 21(1), 65–73. doi:10.1037/0894-4105.21.1.65.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Elsabbagh, M., Volein, A., Csibra, G., Holmboe, K., Garwood, H., Tucker, L., et al. (2009). Neural correlates of eye gaze processing in the infant broader autism phenotype. Biological Psychiatry, 65(1), 31–38. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2008.09.034.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hooge, I. T. C., & Erkelens, C. J. (1999). Peripheral vision and oculomotor control during visual search. Vision Research, 39(8), 1567–1575. doi:10.1016/S0042-6989(98)00213-2.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jarrold, C., Gilchrist, I. D., & Bender, A. (2005). Embedded figures detection in autism and typical development: Preliminary evidence of a double dissociation in relationships with visual search. Developmental Science, 8(4), 344–351. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2005.00422.x.

    Google Scholar 

  • Joseph, R. M., Keehn, B., Connolly, C., Wolfe, J. M., & Horowitz, T. S. (2009). Why is visual search superior in autism spectrum disorder? Developmental Science, 12(6), 1083–1096. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2009.00855.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kaldy, Z., Kraper, C., Carter, A. S., & Blaser, E. (2011). Toddlers with autism spectrum disorder are more successful at visual search than typically developing toddlers. Developmental Science, 14(5), 980–988. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2011.01053.x.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kemner, C., Ewijk, L., Engeland, H., & Hooge, I. (2007). Brief report: Eye movements during visual search tasks indicate enhanced stimulus discriminability in subjects with PDD. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(3), 553–557. doi:10.1007/s10803-007-0406-0.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lavie, N. (1995). Perceptual load as a necessary condition for selective attention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 21(3), 451–468. doi:10.1037/0096-1523.21.3.451.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lavie, N. (2005). Distracted and confused?: Selective attention under load. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9(2), 75–82. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2004.12.004.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lavie, N., & Cox, S. (1997). On the efficiency of visual selective attention: Efficient visual search leads to inefficient distractor rejection. Psychological Science, 8(5), 395–396. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.1997.tb00432.x.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lavie, N., & Fockert, J. W. (2003). Contrasting effects of sensory limits and capacity limits in visual selective attention. Perception & Psychophysics, 65(2), 202–212. doi:10.3758/BF03194795.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lavie, N., Hirst, A., de Fockert, J. W., & Viding, E. (2004). Load theory of selective attention and cognitive control. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 133(3), 339–354. doi:10.1037/0096-3445.133.3.339.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lord, C., Rutter, M., & Couteur, A. (1994). Autism diagnostic interview-revised: A revised version of a diagnostic interview for caregivers of individuals with possible pervasive developmental disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 24(5), 659–685. doi:10.1007/BF02172145.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lord, C., Rutter, M., Goode, S., Heemsbergen, J., Jordan, H., Mawhood, L., et al. (1989). Autism diagnostic observation schedule: A standardized observation of communicative and social behavior. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 19(2), 185–212. doi:10.1007/BF02211841.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merin, N., Young, G. S., Ozonoff, S., & Rogers, S. J. (2006). Visual fixation patterns during reciprocal social interaction distinguish a subgroup of 6-month-old infants at-risk for autism from comparison infants. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37(1), 108–121. doi:10.1007/s10803-006-0342-4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • O’Riordan, M. A. (2004). Superior visual search in adults with autism. Autism, 8(3), 229–248. doi:10.1177/1362361304045219.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • O’Riordan, M. A., Plaisted, K. C., Driver, J., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2001). Superior visual search in autism. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 27(3), 719–730. doi:10.1037/0096-1523.27.3.719.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pellicano, E., Smith, A. D., Cristino, F., Hood, B. M., Briscoe, J., & Gilchrist, I. D. (2011). Children with autism are neither systematic nor optimal foragers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(1), 421–426. doi:10.1073/pnas.1014076108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plaisted, K., O’Riordan, M., & Baron-Cohen, S. (1998a). Enhanced visual search for a conjunctive target in autism: A research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 39(5), 777–783. doi:10.1111/1469-7610.00376.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Plaisted, K., O’Riordan, M., & Baron-Cohen, S. (1998b). Enhanced discrimination of novel, highly similar stimuli by adults with autism during a perceptual learning task. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 39(5), 765–775. doi:10.1111/1469-7610.00375.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Remington, A., Swettenham, J., Campbell, R., & Coleman, M. (2009). Selective attention and perceptual load in autism spectrum disorder. Psychological Science, 20(11), 1388–1393. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02454.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Remington, A. M., Swettenham, J. G., & Lavie, N. (2012). Lightening the load: Perceptual load impairs visual detection in typical adults but not in autism. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 121(2), 544–551. doi:10.1037/a0027670.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Simmons, D. R., Robertson, A. E., McKay, L. S., Toal, E., McAleer, P., & Pollick, F. E. (2009). Vision in autism spectrum disorders. Vision Research, 49(22), 2705–2739. doi:10.1016/j.visres.2009.08.005.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank Branka Milivojevic, Emmie van Schaffelaar, Manje Brinkhuis, Carlijn van den Boomen, and Esther Eijlers for their help with participant recruitment and data collection, and Siarhei Uzunbajakau for building the experimental setup. This work was supported by a Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) VICI Grant (45307004) to Chantal Kemner.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Tineke M. Snijders

    Present address: Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Roy S. Hessels, Ignace T. C. Hooge, Tineke M. Snijders & Chantal Kemner

  2. Department of Developmental Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Roy S. Hessels, Tineke M. Snijders & Chantal Kemner

  3. Heidelberglaan 2, 3584 CS, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Roy S. Hessels, Ignace T. C. Hooge & Chantal Kemner

  4. Department of Psychiatry, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Centre, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584 CX, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Tineke M. Snijders & Chantal Kemner

  5. Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Tineke M. Snijders

  6. Kapittelweg 29, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Tineke M. Snijders

Authors
  1. Roy S. Hessels
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ignace T. C. Hooge
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Tineke M. Snijders
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Chantal Kemner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Roy S. Hessels.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hessels, R.S., Hooge, I.T.C., Snijders, T.M. et al. Is There a Limit to the Superiority of Individuals with ASD in Visual Search?. J Autism Dev Disord 44, 443–451 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1886-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1886-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation