Temporal binding of social events less pronounced in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Differences in predictive processing are considered amongst the prime candidates for mechanisms underlying different symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A particularly valuable paradigm to investigate these processes is temporal binding (TB) assessed through time estimation tasks. In this study, we report on two separate experiments using a TB task designed to assess the influence of top-down social information on action event related TB. Both experiments were performed with a group of individuals diagnosed with ASD and a matched group without ASD. The results replicate earlier findings on a pronounced social hyperbinding for social action-event sequences and extend them to persons with ASD. Hyperbinding however, is less pronounced in the group with ASD as compared to the group without ASD. We interpret our results as indicative of a reduced predictive processing during social interaction. This reduction most likely results from differences in the integration of top-down social information into action-event monitoring. We speculate that this corresponds to differences in mentalizing processes in ASD.

Video games, frustration, violence, and virtual reality: Two studies.

The degree to which the content of video games influences aggression continues to be debated in the scholarly literature. The current article includes two studies, one of which replicates one study from Przybylski et al. (2014, J. Pers. Soc. Psychol., 106, 441) and the other which extends related concepts into virtual reality. In the first study, two versions of Tetris were examined, differing in levels of difficulty. In the second study, participants played virtual reality games which differed in regard to difficulty and violent content. Difficulty increased hostility in the second study but not the first. Violent content influenced neither hostility nor aggressive behaviour. Results partially supported the frustration theory of aggression, but not theories of violent content effects. Implications for the field are discussed.

Temporal binding is enhanced in social contexts.

Temporal binding (TB) refers to an underestimation of time intervals between two events, most commonly for actions and their effects. This temporal contraction is measurable for both perceived changes in social stimuli such as faces, as well as for interactions with a partner. We investigated TB in two separate experiments to uncover the individual influences of (i) participants' belief in an interaction with a human partner (as compared to a computer), and (ii) a face-like stimulus versus an abstract stimulus mediating the interaction. The results show that TB is more pronounced when self-initiated actions result in a personal event as opposed to a mere physical effect, being suggestive of a "social hyperbinding." The social hyperbinding effect appeared to be driven both by the belief in interacting with another person and by a face-like stimulus. However, there seemed to be no further enhancing effect when combining the top-down processes ("beliefs") with the bottom-up processes ("perceptions"). These findings suggest a prioritization of social information for TB regardless of whether this information is introduced by top-down (beliefs) or bottom-up information (stimuli). Our results add to existing literature demonstrating an increase in action-event monitoring for social cues.