Altered Affective Egocentricity in Autism: Implications for Facial Emotion Perception.

Kristina Nikić, Julia Folz, Anouschka van Dijk, Vivien Janowicz, Thomas Suslow, Mariska E Kret, Katja Koelkebeck

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Kristina NikićLVR-University-Hospital Essen, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany. kristina.nikic@uni-due.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0000-8806-4372

Julia FolzDepartment of Cognitive Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands.

Anouschka van DijkDepartment of Cognitive Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands.

Vivien JanowiczClinical Neurosciences, Department of Neurology, Translational Pain Research Unit, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany.

Thomas SuslowDepartment of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Medical Center, University of Leipzig, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.

Mariska E Kret *Department of Cognitive Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands.

Katja Koelkebeck *LVR-University-Hospital Essen, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeAffective egocentricity, the tendency to project one's own affect onto others, appears reduced in those with alexithymia, a condition often linked to autism. This study investigated the relationship between self-reported affectivity (implicit and explicit) and emotion perception (accuracy, perceived intensity) as well as facial muscle responses (corrugator supercilii, zygomaticus major) in autism.

methodsAutistic adults (N = 40) and a non-autistic comparison group (N = 40) watched facial expressions whilst recorded (fEMG) and judged the stimuli afterwards.

resultsFor explicit affect, non-autistic participants showed affective egocentricity, with positive state affect linked to lower accuracy in recognizing angry expressions. In contrast, autistic participants showed an altered pattern, where positive state affect was associated with improved recognition of angry and fearful faces. For implicit affect, autistic participants showed an affect-incongruent link between negative affect and lower perceived intensity of fearful faces. When controlling for alexithymia, explicit state affect differences became more pronounced, but non-significant for implicit affect.

conclusionThese findings offer new insights into how affect shapes social perception in autism differently and highlight the need to better understand the mechanisms underlying these differences and their potential strengths.

Indexed as

Affective egocentricityAlexithymiaAutismFacial affect recognitionImplicit affect

Identifiers

PMID42606786

DOI10.1016/j.jesp.2023.104521

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.