Children with autism are neither systematic nor optimal foragers

Pellicano, Elizabeth; Smith, Alastair D.; Cristino, Filipe; Hood, Bruce; Briscoe, Josie; Gilchrist, Iain D. · 2010 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1014076108

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Summary

This study investigates whether the exceptional visual search skills often observed in children with autism translate to large-scale, real-world environments, specifically testing the predictions of Baron-Cohen’s “systemizing” theory. This theory posits that individuals with autism possess an exaggerated ability to recognize statistical regularities and rules within systems, which should confer an advantage in spatial navigation and foraging tasks. The researchers aimed to determine if autistic children would demonstrate superior sensitivity to probabilistic cues and more systematic search patterns compared to typically developing peers in an ecologically valid setting. The experiment involved 20 school-age children diagnosed with autism spectrum conditions and 20 age- and ability-matched typically developing children. Participants performed a large-scale search task in a purpose-built “foraging room” containing 16 illuminated locations embedded in the floor. The target location, indicated by a color change from green to red, was distributed such that it appeared on one side of the room (the “rich” side) for 80% of the trials. The study measured sensitivity to this probability rule, the optimality of search paths using a traveling salesman problem algorithm, and the consistency of search patterns across trials. Additionally, participants were assessed on local-global processing and spatial memory to identify potential cognitive mechanisms underlying their performance. Contrary to the predictions of the systemizing account, children with autism demonstrated significantly less efficient search behavior than typical children. They showed reduced sensitivity to the statistical properties of the search array, taking longer to infer the probability rule governing target locations. Furthermore, their search paths were less optimal, meaning they did not minimize energy or time as effectively as typical peers, and their search patterns were significantly less consistent or systematic across trials. Autistic children also made significantly more revisits to previously inspected locations, particularly in the second block of trials. Regression analyses revealed that these inefficiencies were predicted by poorer spatial memory and poorer global processing abilities, rather than by age or verbal/nonverbal ability. The findings challenge the notion that systemizing provides a functional advantage in real-world spatial tasks for individuals with autism. Instead of exhibiting hypersystemizing behaviors, children with autism displayed constraints in their cognitive repertoire, specifically in coordinating egocentric and allocentric spatial representations and maintaining spatial memory. The study concludes that while autistic children may excel in small-scale, table-top visual search tasks, these skills do not generalize to large-scale foraging. The results suggest that difficulties in exploring and exploiting large-scale space may hinder functional independence, highlighting a specific pattern of cognitive limitations rather than benefits in this domain.

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• visual search