Mimicry and Prosocial Behavior in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Preliminary Evidence from a Small-Scale Experiment

StatusVoR
Simple item page
dc.abstract.enMimicry is a key mechanism of social interaction that promotes affiliation and prosocial behavior. In autism spectrum disorder (ASD), however, evidence is mixed: basic imitation abilities often appear intact, but their regulation by social cues and context may be altered. This study tested whether children with ASD show prosocial behaviors after being mimicked. Thirty children with ASD (ages 6–9) were randomly assigned to a mimicry or no-mimicry condition during interaction. Prosocial behavior was measured using a pen-dropping task. Mimicked children were more likely to help and picked up more pens, although wide confidence intervals render the true size of the effect uncertain. These findings provide preliminary evidence that mimicry may foster low-cost helping in ASD, though replication with larger, better characterized samples is essential.
dc.affiliationWydział Psychologii Uniwersytetu SWPS w Warszawie
dc.affiliationWydział Psychologii w Warszawie
dc.affiliationInstytut Psychologii
dc.contributor.authorDawidziuk, Aleksandra
dc.contributor.authorHipsz, Karolina
dc.contributor.authorMuniak, Paweł
dc.contributor.authorKulesza, Wojciech
dc.date.access2025-12-19
dc.date.accessioned2026-01-19T10:16:33Z
dc.date.available2026-01-19T10:16:33Z
dc.date.created2025-09-25
dc.date.issued2025-12-19
dc.description.abstract<jats:p>Mimicry is a key mechanism of social interaction that promotes affiliation and prosocial behavior. In autism spectrum disorder (ASD), however, evidence is mixed: basic imitation abilities often appear intact, but their regulation by social cues and context may be altered. This study tested whether children with ASD show prosocial behaviors after being mimicked. Thirty children with ASD (ages 6–9) were randomly assigned to a mimicry or no-mimicry condition during interaction. Prosocial behavior was measured using a pen-dropping task. Mimicked children were more likely to help and picked up more pens, although wide confidence intervals render the true size of the effect uncertain. These findings provide preliminary evidence that mimicry may foster low-cost helping in ASD, though replication with larger, better characterized samples is essential.</jats:p>
dc.description.accesstimeat_publication
dc.description.physical123-127
dc.description.sdgNoSDGsAreRelevantForThisPublication
dc.description.versionfinal_published
dc.description.volume56
dc.identifier.doi10.24425/ppb.2025.153985
dc.identifier.eissn0079-2993
dc.identifier.issn1641-7844
dc.identifier.urihttps://share.swps.edu.pl/handle/swps/2147
dc.identifier.weblinkhttps://journals.pan.pl/dlibra/results?q=Mimicry+and+Prosocial+Behavior+in+Children+with+Autism+Spectrum+Disorder%3A+Preliminary+Evidence+from+a+Small-Scale+Experiment&action=SimpleSearchAction&mdirids=&type=-6&startstr=_all&p=0
dc.languageen
dc.pbn.affiliationpsychologia
dc.rightsCC-BY-NC-ND
dc.rights.questionYes_rights
dc.share.articleOPEN_JOURNAL
dc.subject.ennonverbal mimicry
dc.subject.enprosocial behavior
dc.subject.enchildren
dc.subject.enautism spectrum disorder
dc.swps.sciencecloudsend
dc.titleMimicry and Prosocial Behavior in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Preliminary Evidence from a Small-Scale Experiment
dc.title.journalPolish Psychological Bulletin
dc.typeJournalArticle
dspace.entity.typeArticle