Using the Circumplex Model of Affect to Study Valence and Arousal Ratings of Emotional Faces by Children and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

The Affective Circumplex Model holds that emotions can be described as linear combinations of two underlying, independent neurophysiological systems (arousal, valence). Given research suggesting individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have difficulty processing emotions, we used the circumplex model to compare how individuals with ASD and typically-developing (TD) individuals respond to facial emotions. Participants (51 ASD, 80 TD) rated facial expressions along arousal and valence dimensions; we fitted closed, smooth, 2-dimensional curves to their ratings to examine overall circumplex contours. We modeled individual and group influences on parameters describing curve contours to identify differences in dimensional effects across groups. Significant main effects of diagnosis indicated the ASD-group’ s ratings were constricted for the entire circumplex, suggesting range constriction across all emotions. Findings did not change when covarying for overall intelligence.

Experience sampling of positive affect in adolescents with autism: Feasibility and preliminary findings

“…Although there are numerous studies in which high functioning individuals with ASD have reported affective states using self-report instruments (e.g., Sasson et al, 2012; Tseng et al, 2014; White et al, 2014), another potential limitation of the present study is the long-standing issue of the validity of self-report of affective states in ASD (Berthoz & Hill, 2005; Kaat & Lecavalier, 2015), and future research that addresses the correspondence between self- and caregiver-report indices of positive affect in ASD will be needed to address this issue. We highlight in this regard, however, that the ASD and control groups in this study showed relatively equivalent levels of positive affect, suggesting that the ASD group understood the meaning of PANAS-C items (although this observation is clearly not sufficient to establish the validity of self-reported positive affect in the ASD group, which should be addressed in future studies).…”

Empathy and face processing in adults with and without autism spectrum disorder

“…There is considerable variability in performance on face processing tasks in the ASD population. This variability is seen across age groups in fixation patterns [Amestoy, Guillaud, Bouvard, & Cazalets, ], ratings of the arousal and valence of emotional stimuli [Tseng et al, ], and identity and expression recognition [Greimel et al, ]. Thus, samples of children [Braverman, Fein, Lucci, & Waterhouse, ; Teunisse & de Gelder, ; Wilson, Brock, & Palermo, , ], adolescents [Rutherford, Clements, & Sekuler, ], and adults [Barton et al, ], all include some subgroups that show face and affect processing that is consonant with their mental age, and others that show atypical performance.…”

Social‐cognitive, physiological, and neural mechanisms underlying emotion regulation impairments: understanding anxiety in autism spectrum disorder

“…The circumplex model of affect suggests that dysregulated arousal systems would have a direct impact on the experience of all emotions, and Tseng and colleagues (2013) recently found that a circumplex model of experienced affect is characteristic of individuals with ASD. One potential mechanistic account for impaired ER, and the resultant increased anxiety, in ASD is that individuals on the spectrum may experience heightened levels of basal or reactive arousal.…”