Examining perceptual load capacity in Autism Spectrum Disorders and trait anxiety
Abstract
[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Perceptual load theory posits that there is a limited amount of information a person can perceive at any given time and information is processed automatically until reaching this capacity. Recent studies suggest that perceptual capacity may be enhanced in individuals with high trait anxiety and those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The present study sought to replicate these findings and investigate whether this perceptual phenomenon is driven by anxiety (due to the high comorbidity of these conditions) or an underlying mechanism common to both of these conditions. Using a computerized paradigm that manipulates perceptual load, the performance of 28 young adult males (ages 18-26 years old) with ASD was compared to that of 28 young adult males without ASD. Individuals in both groups also varied on their levels of trait anxiety. Results from this study indicate a relationship between anxiety and perceptual capacity such that individuals with higher anxiety perform better at higher perceptual loads than individuals with lower anxiety. These findings applied to both individuals with and without ASD. This provides evidence for a relationship between enhanced perceptual capacity and anxiety that extends to an ASD population. In addition, results indicate a relationship between ASD diagnosis and task performance, such that individuals with ASD performed worse overall than individuals without ASD regardless of perceptual load difficulty. Possible explanations for this pattern of results are discussed.
Degree
M.A.
Thesis Department
Rights
Access to files is limited to the University of Missouri--Columbia.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License.