Autistic social motivation, identity and attitudes
Along with Autistic collaborators, we have been studying Autistics’ social functioning and motivation.
The practice of social camouflage, or the modification of one’s behaviors to be better perceived by others in one’s environment, is an old one. Recently, it has received much interest as it pertains to people on the autism spectrum. The autism literature includes explorations of how social camouflage should be defined, why it occurs (e.g., the societal pressures that give rise to it), and its impacts on quality of life and mental health. In this article we complement this work with a conceptual model focusing on reflective cognitive aspects, which provides a social analysis of how social camouflage takes place, with respect to personal costs and potential social gains. This model is informed both by autistic lived experience (M.G.) and current research findings. We hope that this model can serve as a tool to empower people on the autism spectrum when reflecting on every day social decision making and that it will spark further research to understand the details of autistic social camouflage, which can, in turn, be used to refine the model (Giroux et al., 2024).
Currently, one of our Master’s students is studying Social Motivation in Autistic Adults. Social motivation (SM) relates to the mechanisms that drive individuals to orient to and take part in the social world. Given observations of reduced social orienting, seeking and liking and social-maintaining behaviors in Autistics, Chevalier et al. (2012) hypothesized that they have reduced SM compared to neurotypicals. Yet, Jaswal and Akhtar (2018) have highlighted evidence of Autistic social interest and engagement. They add that sensory sensitivities and other Autism symptoms can interfere with SM manifesting in expected (neurotypical) ways. No research has looked at how Autistic Adults themselves characterize their SM. To explore and understand SM from a lived-experience perspective, an Autistic researcher created an interview protocol on 8 themes based on literature and measures of SM and social functioning. They then conducted interviews with 12 Autistic Adults on how they think, feel and behave in relation to their SM. Following Braun and Clarke (2006)’s Reflexive Thematic Analysis guidelines, we identified themes surrounding the facilitators and barriers of Autistic Adults’ SM and social participation.
Together these findings give insight into the lived experiences of Autistics and how they make sense of them, the cost and rewards involved, and the barriers and facilitators to their social participation.
