Gestalt Perception and the Experience of the Social Space in Autism: A Case Study

Abstract

Phenomenological approaches suggest that the bodily presence of others has a profound influence on the experience of social spaces. This intimate relationship is particularly evident in mental disorders. Investigations into the nature of intersubjectivity in various pathologies indicate that modifications to the capacity for social perception play a key role in determining the manners in which the social space is experienced and felt. This paper aims to examine the interviewing relation of social perception and the experience of space and its consequences in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This is done through a phenomenologically informed analysis of the functioning of social perception in ASD. Our account proposes that the atypical socio-perceptual patterns exhibited by people with autism significantly reduce the capacity to grasp the context of the situation, which facilitates and intensifies negative feelings that are intertwined with the experience of social spaces. This novel understanding draws on the idea that ASD involves a fundamental difficulty to establish a gestalt perception of social scenes. The evidence we discuss suggests that this anomaly in the operation of social perception also modulates the experience of the social space. Failing to perceive the wholeness of the situation means that people with autism often experience the social space as unfamiliar, confusing, uncertain, and unsafe, rather than feeling familiar and understood in the embodied presence of others. As a result, autistic subjects may experience difficulty evaluating the outcomes of hazardous circumstances, which poses a risk to their well-being, particularly in borderline situations. This suggestion is elaborated through the tragic occurrences that led to the killing of Eyad al-Hallaq, a 32-year-old Palestinian with autism.

Loneliness and Absence in Psychopathology

“…Some of these difficulties connecting may involve perceptual differences: difficulties perceiving the expressive style, or qualitative character, of gestures, facial and emotional expressions, actions, etc., which convey important social information and help guide our social interactions (Bader and Fuchs 2022;Krueger 2021b;Rochat et al 2013). Some of these difficulties may also involve a mismatch of communicative expectations: the norm-governed timing, character, and context-appropriate content of communicative exchanges.…”

Incels, autism, and hopelessness: affective incorporation of online interaction as a challenge for phenomenological psychopathology

“…Most importantly, phenomenological approaches to autism have challenged the prevailing ways of defining autism as a deficiency of cognitive functioning – as a failure to understand the mental states of others and oneself ( Fuchs, 2015 ; Krueger, 2021b ; Boldsen, 2022 , 2). Instead, phenomenologists have argued that difficulties in interacting with neurotypical others stem from a different way of being bodily attuned to the environment and the expressive gestures of others ( Fuchs, 2015 ; Bizzari, 2018 ; Krueger, 2021b ; Bader and Fuchs, 2022 ; Boldsen, 2022 ). This conceptual change is sometimes called “an embodied turn” in autism research ( Boldsen, 2022 ).…”

“…). Oren Bader and Thomas Fuchs have argued, for example, that those with ASC have difficulties in gestalt perception , which unites the gestures, attitudes, and behaviors of others into a meaningful whole in light of the overall situation ( Bader and Fuchs, 2022 ).…”

Space, Social Perception, and Mental Disorders: Phenomenological and Empirical Approaches

“…While the alienation of social stigmatization operates at the level of social interactions and practices and influences experiences at a more personal level, the alienation in depression involves more fundamental transformations of how others are experienced and engaged with. • Finally, Bader and Fuchs [23] explore the relationship between difficulties establishing gestalt perception and the experience of space in autism and its possible outcomes. Based on multidisciplinary evidence, they propose that the autistic failure to perceive the wholeness of a situation can result in experiencing social spaces as unfamiliar, confusing, uncertain, and unsafe.…”

“…Finally, Bader and Fuchs [23] explore the relationship between difficulties establishing gestalt perception and the experience of space in autism and its possible outcomes. Based on multidisciplinary evidence, they propose that the autistic failure to perceive the wholeness of a situation can result in experiencing social spaces as unfamiliar, confusing, uncertain, and unsafe.…”