Awkward but so what: Differences in social trait preferences between autistic and non-autistic adults

Abstract

Autistic and non-autistic observers form less favorable impressions of autistic adults relative to non-autistic adults, yet only non-autistic adults report lower interest in socially interacting with them. This discrepancy may relate to differences in how autistic and non-autistic people value and interpret social traits, with autistic people viewing characteristics such as “awkwardness” in neutral or positive terms rather than as a deterrent to interaction. Here, 24 autistic adults and 24 non-autistic adults rated themselves on 20 traits, their preferences for these traits in others, and their perception of them in an “average” person. Autistic participants rated themselves as more awkward, less socially keen, and less socially “normal” than non-autistic participants. Self-ratings and preferences in others correlated on three attributes—awkward, socially keen, and socially “normal”—with the autistic group demonstrating a large effect ( r = .70) for partners similar to their self-perception of “normal”. Collectively, these findings suggest that common social descriptors like awkward have different appeals for autistic people and should not be universally assumed to be undesirable characteristics. Future studies should seek to replicate these findings with larger and more diverse samples and more established measures.