ORCID
- Robert Harlow: 0009-0004-9834-5900
Abstract
This thesis investigates how predictive perception, motor coordination, and neurotype differences influences social perception in autism. It explores how these mechanisms contribute to social difficulties faced by autistic people, through the lens of the double empathy problem and second-person neuroscience.Chapter 2 examined how spoken intentions and visual evidence guide predictive social perception. Across four experiments, results supported a dual-process model whereby top-down expectations shape early perception but are overridden by visual input once motion begins. This led to the ‘kinematic dominance hypothesis’, suggesting motion cues dominate perception once movement begins due to their higher precision.Chapter 3 used high-resolution active motion capture to analyse autistic motor coordination. Autistic participants showed differences in speed and amplitude of motion during complex tasks. These differences correlated with communication and camouflaging traits, suggesting motor differences may influence how autistic actions are interpreted in everyday contexts.Chapter 4 tested the double empathy problem through predictive perception and diagnostic framing. Non-autistic participants altered perception when told the actor was autistic, despite identical kinematics. Yet, autistic participants showed stable perception regardless of actor neurotype. These findings bridge predictive perception and the double empathy problem. Together, this thesis presents a cohesive account of how social misunderstandings in autism may arise from perceptual, motoric, and contextual divergence rather than deficits in ability. It supports a neurodiversity-informed model of autistic sociality grounded in predictive processing, action kinematics, and behavioural interpretation.
Awarding Institution(s)
University of Plymouth
Supervisor
Matthew Hudson, Jonathan Marsden, Patric Bach
Keywords
Autism, Cognition, Perception and action, Motion capture, Motor Control, Neurodiversity
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Date
2025
Embargo Period
2025-11-05
Deposit Date
November 2025
Additional Links
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Harlow, R. (2025) Predictive Perception in Autism. Thesis. University of Plymouth. Available at: https://doi.org/10.24382/a2qy-yq54
