Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSocial MotivationSocial Motivation/AutismMotivators/Autism TherapyImplications
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Social Motivation
Social Motivation/Autism
Motivators/Autism Therapy
Implications
None of this means that autistic people dislike social engagement (some do, some don’t), nor does it mean that autistic people never get lonely. But it does mean that autistic people react differently to behavioral motivators and, as a result, often lack the skills and desires that push their peers to achieve socially approved goals.
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What Is Social Motivation?
To achieve social acceptance, inclusion, or promotion, most people attend very closely to what others do, want, or approve. At all ages, people imitate peers and look for clues to help gain social prestige. Prizes for social acceptance are everywhere, from selection as “Prom King and Queen” to Employee of the Month, election to office, or acceptance into a fraternity or social club.
Much of life is bound up in the process of achieving social acceptance, so the desire to observe and imitate the social behavior of peers can be taken for granted. It’s assumed that, for example, “grounding” a teen will be a meaningful consequence for poor behavior while supporting social activities will be a meaningful reward.
Social motivation is one of the most important drivers for learning, achievement, and life choices. People don’t strive for acceptance simply because smiles are pleasanter than frowns, but because they actively want the experience of being welcomed and included among peers.
Social Motivation and Autism
The social motivation theory of autism states that autistic children are intrinsically less interested in social engagement. As a result, they pay less attention to social information. The outcome: altered social and cognitive development, which can be described as anything to do with the understanding of other people and their actions.
For example, autistic people may be limited in:
This doesn’t mean that autistic people act badly in order to gain disapproval—in fact, this is extremely rare. Instead, it means that many autistic people are simply oblivious to or unconcerned about others' expectations.
An autistic child may be perfectly capable of (for example) tying their shoes but may have no particular interest in doing so. The fact that “all the other kids” tie their own shoes is irrelevant.
Lack of social motivation is particularly significant for very young children who learn a great deal in the first few years of life through imitation and imitative play. It can also be limiting as children become teens and adults. Many autistic people “hit a wall” when their social communication skills and social motivations fail to keep pace with their intellectual abilities.
Motivators and Autism Therapy
Motivators are the key to any type of training or education. No one will behave or act in prescribed ways unless they have a reason for doing so.
Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA)is an extremely popular therapeutic technique that uses motivators, sometimes called “reinforcers,” to teach desired behaviors to autistic children (and some adults).
These motivators are supposed to be based on the individual’s preferences. As a result, they may include food treats (often small candies or crackers) or preferred activities (for example, a chance to bounce on a trampoline or play with favorite toys). Sometimes it’s possible for the therapist to establish a strong positive relationship with the learner, and in those cases, a hug or high five can also be a meaningful reward.
While negative reinforcements (punishments) were at one point a part of ABA, they are rarely used today except in the most extreme situations. These punishments contributed to why some autism advocates oppose the use of ABA and its emphasis on “fixing"neurodivergentautism traits.
There are pros and cons to this type of therapeutic approach.
Pros of ABA
On the pro side, therapists are actively attempting to understand what motivates the autistic person before teaching desired behaviors. As a result, autistic children are more likely to comply with “mands,” or requests to complete a given action.
Cons of ABA
On the con side, while the individual may learn the behaviors in order to earn the desired reward, the motivation may disappear when the rewards do. A child might learn to smile and say hello in order to earn a treat but may choose not to do so if the only reward is the social approval.
Further, autistic children canperseverate(become entirely focused) on the reward rather than the desired action. The child’s focus is not on observing or understanding the actions of others, but rather on the reward if a desired behavior is repeated. The result is that the child may be capable of doing something but not understand the purpose or context.
Even when a reward is “faded” as the learner starts to perform a behavior without it, the learner doesn’t necessarily generalize the behavior to other circumstances. An autistic child may have learned to smile and say hello, and no longer needs a motivating reward, but they don’t choose the behavior of, say, greeting a teacher each day beyond the classroom in which they learned to do so.
What Is the Best Treatment for Autism?
Implications for Autistic People
It’s easy to see that lack of social motivation in an autistic person can lead to challenges. This is the case even if the individual is bright, capable, creative, sympathetic, and willing to engage with others—and, of course, it’s much more of an issue for a person who has a lower IQ, behavioral challenges, and difficulty with spoken language.
Autistic people are often unaware of social expectations or their importance. As a result, they may:
While it’s not possible to “teach” social motivation, it is possible to provide support, advice, and coaching to both autistic children and adults. For individuals who have the interest and capacity to, for example, attend college, work in competitive jobs, or build adult relationships, social skills education and 1:1 support is extremely important.
In many cases, problems can be averted and opportunities grasped with a little help and advice at the right moment.
Social Skills Therapy for Autism
SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Burnside, K. et al. Social motivation and implicit theory of mind in children with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Res. 2017 Nov;10(11):1834-1844. DOI:10.1002/aur.1836.Chevalier, C. et al. The social motivation theory of autism. Trends Cogn Sci. 2012 Apr;16(4):231-9. DOI:10.1016/j.tics.2012.02.007.Koegel, Lynn et al. Improving motivation for academics in children with autism. J Autism Dev Disord. 2010 Sep; 40(9): 1057–1066. DOI:10.1007/s10803-010-0962-6.Shultz, R. et al. Social motivation, reward and the roots of autism. Spectrum. May, 2012.
Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Burnside, K. et al. Social motivation and implicit theory of mind in children with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Res. 2017 Nov;10(11):1834-1844. DOI:10.1002/aur.1836.Chevalier, C. et al. The social motivation theory of autism. Trends Cogn Sci. 2012 Apr;16(4):231-9. DOI:10.1016/j.tics.2012.02.007.Koegel, Lynn et al. Improving motivation for academics in children with autism. J Autism Dev Disord. 2010 Sep; 40(9): 1057–1066. DOI:10.1007/s10803-010-0962-6.Shultz, R. et al. Social motivation, reward and the roots of autism. Spectrum. May, 2012.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Burnside, K. et al. Social motivation and implicit theory of mind in children with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Res. 2017 Nov;10(11):1834-1844. DOI:10.1002/aur.1836.Chevalier, C. et al. The social motivation theory of autism. Trends Cogn Sci. 2012 Apr;16(4):231-9. DOI:10.1016/j.tics.2012.02.007.Koegel, Lynn et al. Improving motivation for academics in children with autism. J Autism Dev Disord. 2010 Sep; 40(9): 1057–1066. DOI:10.1007/s10803-010-0962-6.Shultz, R. et al. Social motivation, reward and the roots of autism. Spectrum. May, 2012.
Burnside, K. et al. Social motivation and implicit theory of mind in children with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Res. 2017 Nov;10(11):1834-1844. DOI:10.1002/aur.1836.
Chevalier, C. et al. The social motivation theory of autism. Trends Cogn Sci. 2012 Apr;16(4):231-9. DOI:10.1016/j.tics.2012.02.007.
Koegel, Lynn et al. Improving motivation for academics in children with autism. J Autism Dev Disord. 2010 Sep; 40(9): 1057–1066. DOI:10.1007/s10803-010-0962-6.
Shultz, R. et al. Social motivation, reward and the roots of autism. Spectrum. May, 2012.
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