In our office, we are frequently asked and sometimes talk about eye contact among children, particularly those who are neurodivergent or autistic, and in January, 2023, a study was published with some fascinating results concerning eye contact!
In the study, they had 80 participants, 40 of which were autistic and 40 were neurotypical. All participants were unaware of what was actually being measured. They wore eye-tracking glasses which gave researchers data about where the participant's eyes were looking - at the experimenter or elsewhere.
They also had skin conductance sensors on the palms of their hand, which measures the amount of sweat the participant had on their hands. This measurement is important because it helps to see if the participant is stressed, in fight-or-flight, etc and it measures in minute amounts, so potentially picking up when someone is stressed before they are even aware they are stressed.
In the experiment, there was an experimenter and the participant at a table. They would take turns talking about the meaning of words on cards in front of them, but not dictionary meaning, just general meaning and talking. No matter what the participant said or did or where they were looking, the experimenter remained stable, they were neutral in their responses.
During one half of the time the participant spent with the experimenter, the experimenter looked directly at the participant (direct gaze), and the other half of the time was with the experimenter looking away from the participant (averted gaze).
The researchers expected to find that when the experimenter was looking away from the participant there would be no difference between the two groups (neurotypical and autistic). They predicted that the skin conductance sensors would not pick up any particular stress in either group and neither group would change their eye contact due to the experimenter looking away. They also predicted that in the direct gaze group, the neurotypical participants would pay more attention and not be stressed (as shown through the skin conductance sensors); and the autistic participants would pay less attention and would have changes in their skin conductance sensors (either increased or decreased arousal). It is likely that many reading this would also predict this as the outcome for this study, it follows what we often think.
First, the study results showed that autistic participants did NOT avert their gaze more than neurotypicals, both groups were about equal in this aspect of the experiment. Additionally, participants with autism did not have an increase or decrease in their skin conductance responses with either direct or averted gaze from the experimenter. This shows that those with autism were not overly stressed or distressed in reference to the experimenter's direct or averted gaze, including when they were looking directly at the experimenter.
Neurotypical participants, on the other hand, appeared to be distressed and hyperaroused when they were looking at the experimenter when the experimenter had averted their gaze.
The researchers accounted for alexithymia (difficulty in recognizing or describing their own emotions, roughly) and social anxiety, for both groups, in their results.
The results of this experiment were not what the researchers had expected, and likely not what many of the rest of us would have expected.
It SEEMS as though when neurotypical individuals are talking to someone who is averting their gaze, they become distressed, stressed, and/or uncomfortable about it but those with autism are not really bothered about whether or not someone is looking at them when they are talking with each other.
One thing rather peculiar about this study is that if you talk with someone who has autism, they will often say that eye contact is extremely uncomfortable for them, but this study showed they were not stressed about eye contact. This does not mean that those with autism are not telling the truth though.
The study goes on to say ...
"...it is possible that neurotypicals, in their will of establishing eye contact, behave in such an insistent way that they risk making autistics, who are not inherently driven to the eye region, highly uncomfortable."
One specific thing about this study is that the experimenter was instructed to remain stable, to be neutral in their responses. They did not demand or insist that their eye contact be reciprocated, etc they did not react at all. THIS neutral, stable, non-reactive approach may be why those with autism were not stressed about direct eye contact in this experiment.
Often those with autism have been forced to give eye contact to neurotypical people most of their life. This study suggests that this forcing is because when the autistic individual has an averted gaze, it makes the neurotypical individual uncomfortable and stressed. So in these situations, autistic individuals are likely picking up this distress from the neurotypical person who wants their direct gaze reciprocated, THEN when the person with autism gives direct gaze, THEY becomes distressed and uncomfortable (essentially to keep the neurotypical individual from being distressed and uncomfortable).
There is no perfect ending to this other than perhaps some understanding that the distress an autistic person feels with direct eye contact may be because of the change in behavior, body language, etc that a neurotypical individual has when they are uncomfortable because their direct eye contact is not being reciprocated.
If someone is feeling uncomfortable because the person they are talking with isn't reciprocating their eye contact, it may be helpful for them to recognize that the other person is likely not doing this to slight them, but may be autistic (and not even know it). Knowing and understanding this, may help the person feeling the discomfort to manage their own feelings more easily, without depending on the other person to manage their discomfort for them.
This is not medical advice, always ask a chiropractor if chiropractic care is appropriate for you, and your preferred healthcare provider before making dietary, supplement, or lifestyle changes
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