社会动机理论视角下自闭症谱系障碍者的社交缺陷

社交缺陷是自闭症谱系障碍的核心症状。以往研究更多从社会认知的角度指出该症状是心理理论损伤所致, 但自闭症谱系障碍个体在获得心理理论之前已表现出社会动机不足的特质, 且部分能通过心理理论测试的个体依旧表现出社会动机不足的特点。社会动机理论指出社会动机是促进人类进化、激发和维持个体社会性活动的重要内部动力, 自闭症谱系障碍者的社交缺陷是由于社会动机不足所致。该理论从行为表现、神经科学和生物学三个方面对自闭症谱系障碍者的社交缺陷进行解释。未来应进一步完善自闭症谱系障碍个体社会动机的神经机制研究, 明确社会动机理论在自闭症谱系障碍群体中的适用范围, 探究社会动机理论在评估诊断和临床康复中的应用价值。

Social deficits in autism spectrum disorder: A perspective from the social motivation theory

Social deficits are core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Previous studies, from a social cognition perspective, proposed that a deficit in theory of mind is the cause of social impairment. However, individuals with ASD already exhibited social motivation deficit traits prior to acquiring theory of mind. Furthermore, some individuals who were able to pass theory-of-mind tests continued to show decreased motivation when engaging in social interactions. Social motivation theory suggests that social motivation is an important internal force promoting human evolution and motivating and sustaining an individual's social activities. This theory also highlights that social impairments in ASD may be etiologically related to deficits in neural mechanisms of social motivation and provides a new interpretation of social deficits in terms of behavioral performance, neuroscience, and biology. It is important to further refine research on the neural mechanisms of social motivation, to clarify the scope of application of social motivation theory in individuals with ASD, and to investigate the value of social motivation theory in assessment diagnosis and clinical rehabilitation.