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Compensation in autism is not consistent with social motivation theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 July 2019

Lucy Anne Livingston Open the ORCID record for Lucy Anne Livingston [Opens in a new window] ,
Punit Shah Open the ORCID record for Punit Shah [Opens in a new window]  and
Francesca Happé
Lucy Anne Livingston
Affiliation:
Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom. [email protected]@kcl.ac.uk
Punit Shah
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, United Kingdom. [email protected]
Francesca Happé
Affiliation:
Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom. [email protected]@kcl.ac.uk
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Abstract

Growing evidence, as presented by Jaswal & Akhtar, indicates that social motivation is not universally reduced in autism. Here, we evaluate and extend this argument in light of recent evidence of “compensation” in autism. We thereby argue that autistic “compensators” – exhibiting neurotypical behaviour despite persistent difficulties in social cognition – indicate intact or potentially heightened social motivation in autism.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 42 , 2019 , e99
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

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