Poster #46 - Who Can Afford It? Autism Severity and Object Affordances

• In Event: 1-061 - Poster Session 02
  In Poster Session: PS 02 Section - Developmental Disabilities

Integrative Statement

The affordances of an environment are the action possibilities it offers a living creature. Further, affordances can be characterized as an individual’s perceived use of an object or the possible actions that an object suggests (Gibson, 1979). For example, for most individuals, a cup affords drinking, and a chair affords sitting. However, there is little known about object affordances in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by deficits in social interaction as well as a preoccupation with certain objects. Previous research has shown that children with autism have faster neurological responses to objects when compared to faces and larger neural activation to objects than do typically developing individuals (Webb et al., 2006). This increased level of neural processing may be associated with the way individuals with autism perceive action possibilities for objects. Therefore, in this study, we hypothesized that greater autism symptom expression would be associated with an increased number of object affordances.

The (preliminary) sample included 25 participants with Autism Spectrum Disorder (15 males, 7 females, 3 unreported; MAge = 46.59 years, SD = 8.28). All participants were shown 6 objects via online survey: duct tape, a paperclip, a rubber band, a string, and two unique novel objects. After being shown each object, participants were asked to list the total uses for the object (i.e. affordances). Each unique verb was counted as one affordance. In addition to listing affordances, participants also completed the RAAD-14; a 14-item questionnaire that measures symptomology of Autism Spectrum Disorder based on criteria from the DSM-IV-TR and the ICD-10. Scores on the RAAD-14 range from 0 (no symptoms) to 42 (maximum severity).

Pearson’s Product Moment Correlations were computed between the RAAD-14 scale score and the number of reported affordances for each object. Correlations can be found in Table 1.

With the exception of the novel objects, the number of object affordances was positively associated with autism severity. One possible explanation for the association is Uta Frith’s Weak Central Coherence Theory. Central coherence is the ability to perceive meaning from a group of details (Frith, 1994). For example, individuals with strong central coherence (e.g., typically developing individuals) might look at a group of people and perceive a crowd, while individuals with weak central coherence (e.g., individuals with autism) might see one individual in a blue shirt. Therefore, individuals with Autism, may be identifying uses for component parts (or properties) of objects (and better able to identify total object affordances).

Participant recruiting is ongoing. Additional participants will be reported at the time of the conference. Additionally, we are revising our survey to include a sample of typically developing individuals and information about socially acceptable uses of objects.

Authors

• Sarah Jordan, Clemson University
  Presenting Author

• Emily Szabo, Clemson University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Tiffani Paul, Clemson University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jennifer Bailey Bisson, Clemson University
  Non-Presenting Author