See No Emo, Hear No Emo, Feel No Emo? the Effect of Seeing Versus Hearing Emotions on Mood in Autism Spectrum Conditions

Background:  Observing an emotional display (e.g. another person laughing) often leads neuro-typical observers to mimic, recognise and ‘catch’ the underlying emotion themselves, resulting in a subjective change in mood. This emotional contagion is suggested to have evolved as a social mechanism to foster group cohesion by creating a bond between individuals engaged in the shared emotional display (Provine, 2004). Individuals with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) reportedly demonstrate reduced emotional contagion when observing displays of emotions (e.g. Helt et al., 2010), but emotional displays contain visual and auditory information, and it is not yet known whether emotional contagion is driven primarily by visual or auditory sensory processing. Atypical auditory processing been noted previously in individuals with ASC, but contemporary emotion recognition interventions typically focus on visual processing, for example by training participants to read facial expressions. Understanding the relationship between sensory processing and emotion processing could improve emotion interventions for people with ASC.

Objectives:  This study aimed to determine whether emotional contagion is driven primarily by hearing or by seeing displays of emotions, and whether this differs in people on the autism spectrum.

Methods:  Forty-four adults with ASC and 49 neuro-typical adults participated in the study. Participants watched two video montages of strangers exhibiting realistic displays of emotions: one montage in audio-only format (sound files with a blank visual display) and another in visual-only format (muted video clips). The emotion depicted in the videos was a between-subjects factor, such that half of the participants watched video montages of laughter and half watched video montages of crying. Participants were asked to rate their mood before and after each video montage, so emotional contagion as a result of each video montage could be measured. The items in the mood rating scales were taken from the PANAS (Watson et al., 1988).

Results:  Data were subjected to a 2 (Participant group: ASC, Control) x 2 (Sensory information: Audio, Visual) x 2 (Emotional expression: Laughing, Crying) ANOVA. A main effect of Participant group was found, with participants in the ASC group finding the emotions displayed in the videos significantly less contagious than Control participants. A significant interaction was also found between Sensory information and Emotional expression, driven by the absence of emotional contagion when seeing visual-only displays of laughter.

Conclusions:  Participants with ASC found emotions less contagious than neuro-typical adults, but the impact of sensory information was the same for both participant groups. Rather, the impact of seeing versus hearing emotions was dependent on the emotion being expressed. Hearing others laughing and crying resulted in comparable emotional contagion, but without sound, the facial expressions involved in laughter failed to trigger any change in mood. Although the nature of contagion is yet to be studied for other emotions, this research suggests the auditory properties of laughter are particularly important for fostering a positive collective mood. This finding has implications for individuals with ASC who block out auditory stimulation in social situations, because this may create another barrier to inclusivity within a social group.