Attentional differences in a driving hazard perception task in adults with autism spectrum disorders

Sheppard, Elizabeth; van Loon, Editha; Underwood, Geoffrey; Ropar, Danielle

Abstract

The current study explored attentional processing of social and non social stimuli in ASD within the context of a driving hazard perception task. Participants watched videos of road scenes and detected hazards while their eye movements were recorded. Although individuals with ASD demonstrated relatively good detection of driving hazards, they were slower to orient to hazards. Greater attentional capture in the time preceding the hazards’ onset was associated with lower verbal IQ. The findings suggest that individuals with ASD may distribute and direct their attention diferently when identifying driving hazards.

Citation

Sheppard, E., van Loon, E., Underwood, G., & Ropar, D. (in press). Attentional differences in a driving hazard perception task in adults with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2965-4

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 10, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Nov 19, 2016
• Deposit Date: Nov 21, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 21, 2016
• Journal: Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
• Print ISSN: 0162-3257
• Electronic ISSN: 1573-3432
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2965-4
• Keywords: Attention, Autism spectrum disorders, Driving, Eye-tracking, Hazard perception
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/827910
• Publisher URL: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10803-016-2965-4