Brief report: Selective social anhedonia in high functioning autism.
High-functioning teens with autism often say social time simply isn't fun, so measure social pleasure before you write more social goals.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Chevallier et al. (2012) asked high-functioning teens with autism how much fun they get from hanging out with peers.
They used a short checklist called the Social Anhedonia Scale. Each teen rated statements like "I enjoy chatting with friends."
The researchers compared scores to same-age peers without autism. They also checked if lower social pleasure lined up with autism severity.
What they found
Teens with autism said they feel much less pleasure from social moments than typical teens.
The lower the pleasure score, the higher the autism traits. Social joy and autism severity moved together in a straight line.
How this fits with other research
Cohrs et al. (2017) saw the same pattern through eye-tracking. Their ASD youth looked away from lively peer scenes, matching the low social joy reported here.
Ridgway et al. (2024) widened the age range and still found lower wellbeing in autistic youth, showing the mood gap lasts into young adulthood.
Louwerse et al. (2014) seems to clash: they found no heart-rate change when ASD teens viewed social pictures. The difference is method: body response versus feelings on paper. Autonomic calm does not rule out "I just don't enjoy this."
Why it matters
If a social-skills program stalls, ask the teen directly, "Do you actually like being around people?" A quick social-pleasure scale can flag anhedonia in minutes. Pair it with parent or teacher data to avoid missed depression or anxiety. When joy is low, add motivation strategies—choice, shared interests, or reinforcement for simple social approach—before drilling more conversation scripts.
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Join Free →Hand your teen client a 5-item social-pleasure checklist; if scores are low, weave preferred topics or gamified peer contact into the next session.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Diminished social motivation is one of the most striking features in autism. Yet, few studies have directly assessed the value people with an ASD place on social interactions, or how rewarding they report it to be. In the present study, we directly measure social motivation by looking at responses to a questionnaire assessing self-reported pleasure in social and non social situations. Twenty-nine adolescents with ASD and matched controls took part in the study. Our results reveal that children with an ASD differ from the controls with respect to social enjoyment, but not with respect to physical and other sources of hedonism. Further analyses demonstrate that the degree of social anhedonia correlates with autism severity.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2012 · doi:10.1007/s10803-011-1364-0