From Gaze to Interaction: Links Between Visual Attention, Facial Expression Identification, and Behavior of Children Diagnosed with ASD or Typically Developing Children with an Assistance Dog
Understanding how children engage with others is crucial for improving social interactions, especially when one of the partners is an animal. We investigated relationships between interaction strategies, visual attention, and facial expression identification of children interacting with an assistanc...
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| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Behavioral Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/15/5/674 |
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| author | Manon Toutain Salomé Paris Solyane Lefranc Laurence Henry Marine Grandgeorge |
| author_facet | Manon Toutain Salomé Paris Solyane Lefranc Laurence Henry Marine Grandgeorge |
| author_sort | Manon Toutain |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Understanding how children engage with others is crucial for improving social interactions, especially when one of the partners is an animal. We investigated relationships between interaction strategies, visual attention, and facial expression identification of children interacting with an assistance dog, and evaluated the effects of a neurodevelopmental disorder (Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)) on these elements. Thus 20 children (7 with ASD, 13 with typical development or TD) participated in three experimental tasks: (1) face-to-face encounters with the assistance dog while wearing eye-tracking glasses to analyze visual exploration patterns; (2) free interactions with the assistance dog, assessed using ethological methods and (3) a computerized task evaluating human and canine facial expression identification. The results revealed that (1) visual exploration patterns varied depending on task instructions: ASD children paid less attention to faces and more to the environment than TD children; (2) both groups displayed similar behavioral patterns during free interactions with the assistance dog; (3) facial expression identification data did not differ between groups; and (4) within-group associations emerged between visual attention, spontaneous interaction behaviors, and facial expression identification abilities. These findings highlighted the complex interplay between visual attention, facial expression identification, and social behavior of children, emphasizing the importance of context in shaping interaction strategies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-80fd66a4f26c49e2b8e9f1e57a8fa78d |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2076-328X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Behavioral Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-80fd66a4f26c49e2b8e9f1e57a8fa78d2025-08-20T03:14:30ZengMDPI AGBehavioral Sciences2076-328X2025-05-0115567410.3390/bs15050674From Gaze to Interaction: Links Between Visual Attention, Facial Expression Identification, and Behavior of Children Diagnosed with ASD or Typically Developing Children with an Assistance DogManon Toutain0Salomé Paris1Solyane Lefranc2Laurence Henry3Marine Grandgeorge4UMR 8002 Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, CNRS, Université Paris-Cité, 75006 Paris, FranceCNRS, EthoS (Éthologie Animale et Humaine)—UMR 6552, University Rennes, Normandie University, 35000 Rennes, FranceCNRS, EthoS (Éthologie Animale et Humaine)—UMR 6552, University Rennes, Normandie University, 35000 Rennes, FranceCNRS, EthoS (Éthologie Animale et Humaine)—UMR 6552, University Rennes, Normandie University, 35000 Rennes, FranceCNRS, EthoS (Éthologie Animale et Humaine)—UMR 6552, University Rennes, Normandie University, 35000 Rennes, FranceUnderstanding how children engage with others is crucial for improving social interactions, especially when one of the partners is an animal. We investigated relationships between interaction strategies, visual attention, and facial expression identification of children interacting with an assistance dog, and evaluated the effects of a neurodevelopmental disorder (Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)) on these elements. Thus 20 children (7 with ASD, 13 with typical development or TD) participated in three experimental tasks: (1) face-to-face encounters with the assistance dog while wearing eye-tracking glasses to analyze visual exploration patterns; (2) free interactions with the assistance dog, assessed using ethological methods and (3) a computerized task evaluating human and canine facial expression identification. The results revealed that (1) visual exploration patterns varied depending on task instructions: ASD children paid less attention to faces and more to the environment than TD children; (2) both groups displayed similar behavioral patterns during free interactions with the assistance dog; (3) facial expression identification data did not differ between groups; and (4) within-group associations emerged between visual attention, spontaneous interaction behaviors, and facial expression identification abilities. These findings highlighted the complex interplay between visual attention, facial expression identification, and social behavior of children, emphasizing the importance of context in shaping interaction strategies.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/15/5/674visual attentionassistance dogautismethologyhuman-animal interaction |
| spellingShingle | Manon Toutain Salomé Paris Solyane Lefranc Laurence Henry Marine Grandgeorge From Gaze to Interaction: Links Between Visual Attention, Facial Expression Identification, and Behavior of Children Diagnosed with ASD or Typically Developing Children with an Assistance Dog Behavioral Sciences visual attention assistance dog autism ethology human-animal interaction |
| title | From Gaze to Interaction: Links Between Visual Attention, Facial Expression Identification, and Behavior of Children Diagnosed with ASD or Typically Developing Children with an Assistance Dog |
| title_full | From Gaze to Interaction: Links Between Visual Attention, Facial Expression Identification, and Behavior of Children Diagnosed with ASD or Typically Developing Children with an Assistance Dog |
| title_fullStr | From Gaze to Interaction: Links Between Visual Attention, Facial Expression Identification, and Behavior of Children Diagnosed with ASD or Typically Developing Children with an Assistance Dog |
| title_full_unstemmed | From Gaze to Interaction: Links Between Visual Attention, Facial Expression Identification, and Behavior of Children Diagnosed with ASD or Typically Developing Children with an Assistance Dog |
| title_short | From Gaze to Interaction: Links Between Visual Attention, Facial Expression Identification, and Behavior of Children Diagnosed with ASD or Typically Developing Children with an Assistance Dog |
| title_sort | from gaze to interaction links between visual attention facial expression identification and behavior of children diagnosed with asd or typically developing children with an assistance dog |
| topic | visual attention assistance dog autism ethology human-animal interaction |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/15/5/674 |
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