1 Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, USA.
2 Kennedy Krieger Institute, USA.
Autism. 2017 Oct;21(7):881-895. doi: 10.1177/1362361316655035. Epub 2016 Jul 1.
One of the key diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder includes impairments in social interactions. This study compared the extent to which boys with high-functioning autism and typically developing boys "value" engaging in activities with a parent or alone. Two different assessments that can empirically determine the relative reinforcing value of social and non-social stimuli were employed: paired-choice preference assessments and progressive-ratio schedules. There were no significant differences between boys with high-functioning autism and typically developing boys on either measure. Moreover, there was a strong correspondence in performance across these two measures for participants in each group. These results suggest that the relative reinforcing value of engaging in activities with a primary caregiver is not diminished for children with autism spectrum disorder.
自闭症谱系障碍的一个关键诊断标准包括社交互动障碍。本研究比较了高功能自闭症男孩和典型发育男孩与父母或独自参与活动的“价值”程度。采用了两种不同的评估方法，可以从经验上确定社交和非社交刺激的相对强化价值：配对选择偏好评估和递进比率时间表。在这两种测量方法上，高功能自闭症男孩和典型发育男孩之间没有显著差异。此外，两组参与者在这两种测量方法上的表现具有很强的对应性。这些结果表明，自闭症谱系障碍儿童与主要照顾者一起参与活动的相对强化价值并没有降低。
