“They Think I’m Amazing but Won’t Talk with Me.” Neurotypical People Are More Cognitively Than Behaviorally Positive Towards Their Autistic Friends

Negative stereotypes and ostracism of those on the autism spectrum persist, with consequences for autistic people including fewer friendships and smaller social networks. Recent work in the area has found that diagnosis disclosure can have a positive effect on autistic peer perceptions and that non-autistic people often decide whether or not to maintain relations with autistic individuals based on initial thin slice judgements. Participants (N = 423) in this study were randomly assigned to one of two conditions (disclosure of autism diagnosis or no disclosure) and read a fictional vignette depicting a social interaction with someone displaying behaviors characteristic of autism. They then answered questions regarding their affective, behavioral, and cognitive responses to the character. Results indicate that non-autistic people show positive cognitions, but less positive behavior, towards those on the spectrum, and that participants with autistic friends (regardless of diagnosis disclosure) showed more negativity to the vignette character than those participants without such friends. Implications are discussed in light of situational factors that may be present within these relationships.