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Although prior studies have demonstrated reduced resting state EEG coherence in adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), no studies have explored the nature of EEG coherence during joint attention. We examined the EEG coherence of the joint attention network in adolescents with and without ASD during congruent and incongruent joint attention perception and an eyes-open resting condition. Across conditions, adolescents with ASD showed reduced right hemisphere temporal–central alpha coherence compared to typically developing adolescents. Greater right temporal–central alpha coherence during joint attention was positively associated with social cognitive performance in typical development but not in ASD. These results suggest that, in addition to a resting state, EEG coherence during joint attention perception is reduced in ASD.

Although there has been growing interest in utilizing robots for intervention in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), there have been very few controlled trials to assess the actual impacts of such systems on social communication vulnerabilities. This study reports a randomized controlled trial to investigate a robot-mediated response to joint attention intervention in a small (23 recruited; 20 completed) group of young children (average age = 2.54 years) with ASD. Small and nonsignificant group differences were observed regarding improvements in response to joint attention skills within and beyond the intervention. The sample showed tremendous individual variability in response to the system. Results highlight the current challenges related to developing pragmatic, beneficial, and generalizable robotic intervention systems for the targeted population.

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the deictic cue used to initiate joint visual attention behaviour. This eye-tracking study involves children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) whose developmental level, specifically in terms of communication skills, was below their chronological age. They were therefore matched with two groups of typical children, in chronological and developmental age. The video stimulus depicted an actress who used different deictic cues, in combination or not, to attract children's visual attention, i.e., glances alone; glances and verbalisations; or glances together with pointing and verbalisations. The data were analysed using a post hoc visual area of interest methodology. In the various conditions, ASD children paid less attention to the actress' face, but more to the background, compared to typical children. Visual exploration differs, which may explain why ASD children follow deictic cues less than the control groups. The combination of gaze cues and verbalisations was the least relevant for ASD children followed by deictic gaze cues with eye and/or head orientation. In contrast, adding pointing to gaze direction and verbalisations resulted in more responses to the initiation of joint attention. Our results suggest the importance of using multiple cues in combination to help ASD children acquire this language prerequisite and to better understand directionality in interaction. These results provide new ideas to adjust early remediation programs for ASD children.

In the present study, the effects of an intervention based on an augmented reality technology called Pictogram Room were examined. The objective of the intervention was to improve the responding to joint attention (RJA) skills of gaze following and pointing in six children on the autism spectrum between 3 and 8 years old. A multiple baseline single-subject experimental design was conducted for 12 weeks in a school setting. Results indicated that all of the participant children improved performance in RJA following the intervention. Improvements were maintained over time and generalised to real-world situations. These findings demonstrate that autistic children can improve their RJA skills with a targeted and engaging intervention based on an accessible augmented reality technology tool.

The concept of joint attention holds significant importance in human interaction and is pivotal in establishing rapport, understanding, and effective communication. Within social robotics, enhancing user perception of the robot and promoting a sense of natural interaction with robots becomes a central element. In this sense, emulating human-centric qualities in social robots, such as joint attention, defined as the ability of two or more individuals to focus on a common event simultaneously, can increase their acceptability. This study analyses the impact on user perception of a responsive joint attention system integrated into a social robot within an interactive scenario. The experimental setup involves playing against the robot in the “Odds and Evens” game under two conditions: whether the joint attention system is active or inactive. Additionally, auditory and visual distractors are employed to simulate real-world distractions, aiming to test the system’s ability to capture and follow user attention effectively. To assess the influence of the joint attention system, participants completed the Robotic Social Attributes Scale (RoSAS) after each interaction. The results showed a significant improvement in user perception of the robot’s competence and warmth when the joint attention system was active.

Joint attention, the capacity of two or more individuals to focus on a common event simultaneously, is fundamental to human–human interaction, enabling effective communication. When considering the field of social robotics, emulating this capability might be necessary for promoting natural interactions and thus improving user engagement. Responding to joint attention (RJA), defined as the ability to react to external attentional cues by aligning focus with another individual, plays a critical role in promoting mutual understanding. This study examines how RJA impacts user engagement during human–robot interaction. The participants play a turn-taking game against a social robot under two conditions: with our RJA system active and with the system inactive. Auditory and visual stimuli are introduced to simulate real-world dynamics, testing the robot’s ability to detect and follow the user’s focus of attention. We use a twofold approach to evaluate the system’s impact on the user’s experience during the interaction. On the one hand, we use head pose telemetry to quantify attentional aspects of engagement, including measures of distraction and focus during the interaction. On the other hand, we use a post-experimental questionnaire incorporating the User Engagement Scale Short Form to assess engagement. The results regarding telemetry data reveal reduced distraction and improved attentional consistency, highlighting the system’s ability to maintain attention on the current task effectively. Furthermore, the questionnaire responses show that RJA significantly enhances self-reported engagement when the system is active. We believe these findings confirm the value of attentional mechanisms in promoting engaging human–robot interactions.

Infants at risk for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) may have difficulty integrating smiles into initiating joint attention (IJA) bids. A specific IJA pattern, anticipatory smiling, may communicate preexisting positive affect when an infant smiles at an object and then turns the smile toward the social partner. We compared the development of anticipatory smiling at 8, 10, and 12 months in infant siblings of children with ASD (high-risk siblings) and without ASD (low-risk siblings). High-risk siblings produced less anticipatory smiling than low-risk siblings, suggesting early differences in communicating preexisting positive affect. While early anticipatory smiling distinguished the risk groups, IJA not accompanied by smiling best predicted later severity of ASD-related behavioral characteristics among high-risk siblings. High-risk infants appear to show lower levels of motivation to share positive affect with others. However, facility with initiating joint attention in the absence of a clear index of positive affective motivation appears to be central to the prediction of ASD symptoms.

In this paper we outline our hypothesis that human intersubjective engagement entails identifying with other people. We tested a prediction derived from this hypothesis that concerned the relation between a component of joint attention and a specific form of imitation. The empirical investigation involved “blind” ratings of videotapes from a recent study in which we tested matched children with and without autism for their propensity to imitate the self-/other-orientated aspects of another person's actions. The results were in keeping with three a priori predictions, as follows: (a) children with autism contrasted with control participants in spending more time looking at the objects acted upon and less time looking at the tester; (b) participants with autism showed fewer “sharing” looks toward the tester, and although they also showed fewer “checking” and “orientating” looks, they were specifically less likely to show any sharing looks; and, critically, (c) within each group, individual differences in sharing looks (only) were associated with imitation of self–other orientation. We suggest that the propensity to adopt the bodily anchored psychological stance of another person is essential to certain forms of joint attention and imitation, and that a weak tendency to identify with others is pivotal for the developmental psychopathology of autism.This research was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (award reference R000239355), the Baily Thomas Charitable Foundation, and the Tavistock Clinic, London (with NHS R&D funding). The manuscript was completed while the authors were at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford. We are grateful to the staff, students, and parents at Edith Borthwick School, Helen Allison School, Springhallow School, and Swiss Cottage School for their generous involvement in this project; Dave Williams, Valentina Levi, and Susana Caló for their assistance with ratings of joint attention; and Tony Lee and Rosa García Pérez for their many contributions to the research.

Recent research in cognitive science has provided broad empirical support for the model of cognition and self-development formulated by G.H. Mead. This is demonstrated specifically through three distinct cognitive mechanisms: basic-level categories, mirror neurons, and joint-attention schemes. These mechanisms illustrate a form of embodied sociality that underscores the intersubjective foundation of mind and self articulated by Mead. Research on basic-level categories, mirror neurons, and joint-attention schemes further extends Mead's relevance outside standard sociological and social psychological circles to the field of cognitive science and its emerging focus on sociality and social interaction.

We examined visual attention allocation during a set of social videos that are intended to elicit the coordination of attention with another person, compared to a control condition. Deficits in joint attention are a characteristic of young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Participants included a diverse sample of 50 typically developing school-aged children between 3 and 9 years of age ( M  = 6:3, SD = 1:8). Results demonstrated that gaze allocation differed significantly between the experimental and control condition. Further, individual differences in gaze allocation were significantly predicted by a parent-report measure evaluating features of the broad autism phenotype. This study contributes to a research program that aims to develop and validate an endophenotype measure of ASD.