Understanding Social Connections Between Autistic and Non-Autistic People
Supervisors: Dr Lauren Marsh & Dr Danielle Ropar
Human connection is the subjective experience of a sense of belonging with others. It is critical for human flourishing as it promotes social, emotional and physical wellbeing (Cacioppo & Patrick, 2008). Improved social connections lead to increased happiness and prosocial behaviours including empathy, trust and cooperation (Glanville et al, 2013). Conversely, a perceived lack of connection can result in increased mortality and poorer emotional and cognitive functioning (Hawkley & Cacioppo, 2010). Autistic individuals may find it challenging to connect with others. Traditional theories attribute this struggle to an autistic ‘deficit’ in social cognition (Frith, 2003), although contemporary accounts propose this stems from a bi-directional disconnect between autistic and non-autistic people due to mismatched communication styles (Crompton et al., 2021). With well documented mental health difficulties amongst autistic individuals (Cassidy et al., 2014), it is important to identify ways of improving the connection between autistic and non-autistic individuals to promote social inclusion and improved wellbeing.
The disconnect between autistic and non-autistic people may be mitigated when using online platforms (e.g. zoom) to interact (Marsh et al., in prep). There are several possible reasons why online interactions may be beneficial. Online platforms may allow customisation, which suits autistic sensory differences. Furthermore, non-autistic individuals may be more tolerant to common autistic social differences online, such as atypical eye contact and turn-taking errors, as these are commonly disrupted during online interactions.
The proposed PhD aims to: 1) Investigate the benefit of online interactions for forging social connections between autistic and non-autistic people, 2) Identify key predictors of social connection by examining naturally occurring, communicative features of social interactions and 3) Experimentally test socio-cognitive and sensory theories which account for differences in social connection.
Informal queries about this project should be directed to Dr Danielle Ropar danielle.ropar@nottingham.ac.uk.