Autism Researchers’ Rapport Study Refutes Social-Deficit Model

Psychology researchers from The University of Texas at Dallas are challenging the perception that the difficulties autistic people face in socializing are due to one-sided deficiencies.

Sarah Foster, a psychology doctoral student in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, is the corresponding author of a study published online Feb. 24 in the journal Autism that examines four-person group interactions among neurotypical, autistic and mixed groups of individuals.

“Many researchers have framed autistic people as having empathy deficits, or lacking social motivation or skill,” Foster said. “We believe that these are not deficits, but differences often arising from a mismatch in communication styles and ways of thinking. Shifting the focus to a relational framework can make a significant difference — not only in reducing stigma, but also in more accurately capturing the nuances of social interactions.”

Her findings offer further support for the theory of the “double empathy problem,” which posits that social difficulties between autistic and nonautistic people often stem from mutual misunderstandings, rather than a one-sided deficit.

Dr. Noah Sasson, professor of psychology and senior author of the study, said that many recent studies support the theory that the reasons behind social issues in autism are much more nuanced and contextual than a unilateral deficit.

“For instance, autistic people often get along and communicate better with other autistic people than nonautistic people do, including in this study,” Sasson said. “The struggles that autistic people experience in interactions with nonautistic people are often felt by both parties.”

Foster and her colleagues in Sasson’s Social Cognition and Interaction in Autism Lab are among the first to look at group dynamics between autistic people and those without autism, rather than one-on-one interactions between individuals.

“There are many more dynamics at play in group settings,” Foster said. “We looked at collaboration, and our findings revealed some differences in how the groups worked together — their collaboration styles, preferences and problem-solving strategies.”

The experiment’s 143 participants — 77 autistic people and 66 people without autism — were placed in groups of four that were one of four types: all autistic, all nonautistic, nonautistic majority and autistic majority. Each group played a collaborative game, and the individuals then assessed their experiences in terms of how enjoyable, easy, successful, friendly and awkward they found the interactions.

The all-autistic groups reported the highest composite rapport score, perceiving their group interactions to be significantly more enjoyable and friendlier than both mixed groups. The rapport for autistic adults declined when placed with nonautistic group members.

“These variations between autistic and nonautistic adults in collaborative preferences and problem-solving strategies contributed to mutual misunderstanding in mixed neurotype groups,” Foster said. “In these mixed groups, autistic adults showed fewer collaborative behaviors and expressed more negative opinions.”

In additional studies, Foster has uncovered more about differences between autistic and nonautistic people in emotional expressivity.

“Many researchers have framed autistic people as having empathy deficits, or lacking social motivation or skill. We believe that these are not deficits, but differences often arising from a mismatch in communication styles and ways of thinking.”

psychology doctoral student Sarah Foster

In one study, emotion-recognition computer software, as well as actual nonautistic individuals, interpreted autistic facial expressions as more negative. In another study, participants recalled and relived personal emotional experiences. Autistic and nonautistic people exhibited different outward expressions despite describing feeling similar emotions.

“If autistic people feel the same emotions but express them differently, they may not get the same emotional support that a nonautistic person would,” Foster said.

Foster has both firsthand and secondhand experience with the struggles of the autistic community to be accurately diagnosed and provided effective therapy.

“I got my autism diagnosis at age 27, just before coming to UT Dallas,” she said. “I’d known for a long time, but it took a great deal of time and effort to get diagnosed because I’m female. I was told by clinicians that I’m ‘too empathetic’ to be autistic. That invalidating, alienating experience shaped my research: I want to better understand why nonautistic people assume there’s an empathy deficit.”

Foster was a behavioral therapist for several years before returning to academia to pursue her PhD. It was an experience she described as eye-opening.

“I recognized different ways to support my clients and approaches that didn’t necessarily rely on applied behavior analysis, which often pressures autistic people to conform to neurotypical norms,” she said. “It made me want to find a better way to help my clients.”

In her doctoral research, Foster intends to examine how autistic and nonautistic people regulate and express emotions, both when alone and in social settings.

“I want to understand how these differences shape whether emotional needs are recognized and met by other people,” she said. “Hopefully, we can learn something that has the potential to improve not only interpersonal understanding, but also mental health outcomes. Autistic people face higher levels of chronic stress, anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation.”

Foster praised both her mentor Sasson and the broader UTD community for making her work more fulfilling.

“Dr. Sasson studies interactions in a different way from most autism researchers. He challenges the deficit-based view of autism. His work is the reason I came here,” she said. “And UTD is great because there are many autistic people here. I fit in really well. Getting to know the participants in these studies has been amazing.”

Foster graduated from Salem State University in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. In 2022, she earned a master’s degree in human development and child studies from Tufts University.

Sasson described Foster as an exceptional student performing revealing research.

“She has great ideas, keen insights, and strong methodological and analytical skills,” he said. “It’s a pleasure conducting research with her.”

When asked for advice for nonautistic people about interacting successfully with the autistic community, Foster advised going into interactions with an open mind.

“Try to take your preconceived ideas of autism out of the picture and see an autistic person as just a person,” she said. “Try to empathize with that person. That can make a world of difference.”

Other UT Dallas authors of the study are Dr. Robert Ackerman, associate professor of psychology, and psychology doctoral student Rachel Calderon BS’20, MS’24. The study was funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation (grant number TWCF-2020-20442). Additional authors were from the University of Nottingham and The University of Edinburgh, which each hosted study evaluation sites, as did UT Dallas.