Emotional Contagion and Autistic Traits: Disentangling Components of Social-Emotional Processing

Emotional contagion, the automatic sharing of another person’s affective state, is a foundational component of social–emotional processing. Despite extensive research on empathy in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), little is known about automatic affective mechanisms and their relation to autistic traits. Therefore, this study examined susceptibility to emotional contagion in adults with and without ASD, considering gender, emotion type, and autistic traits. Adults with ASD (n = 130) and typically developing (TD) peers (n = 219) completed the Autism-Spectrum Quotient and Emotional Contagion Scale. ANCOVAs tested group, gender, and group-by-gender effects, while regression analyses examined associations between AQ subscales and emotion-specific contagion. Individuals with ASD reported lower susceptibility to both positive (happiness, love) and negative (anger, fear, sadness) emotions than TD participants. Gender differences were present in TD participants, with women reporting higher susceptibility, but largely absent or reversed in ASD (notably for love). Across groups, reduced social skills predicted lower emotional contagion; other traits (attention-switching, imagination) showed group-specific associations. Emotional contagion in ASD is attenuated but not absent, reflecting qualitative differences in affective resonance rather than a global deficit. Findings highlight the importance of considering both automatic and cognitive components of empathy and support dimensional approaches to social–emotional functioning in autism.