UC Riverside

Given the influential role of television in learning about psychological disorders, extant research has highlighted the importance of scripted entertainment television depictions in forming perceptions about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD; Cloverdale et al., 2001). However, it has been well-documented that these portrayals depict an overrepresentation of savantism, and an underrepresentation of the day-to-day difficulties associated with the disorder (Nordahl-Hansen et al., 2018b). Because of this misrepresentation, the public has developed misconceptions in their understanding of and attitudes toward ASD.

In this study, I utilized an experimental design with a sample of 186 members of Generation Z (a cohort raised in the digital age and known for their interest in social movements; 85 male, 99 female, 2 non-binary; Mage = 19.61 years, SDage = 1.39 years) to compare scripted entertainment portrayals of ASD, non-scripted entertainment portrayals, and a control condition in perceptions of ASD (e.g., knowledge of ASD, stigma toward ASD). I then utilized a person-oriented approach to examine whether varying clustered profiles of knowledge and stigma produce differences in prosociality toward the ASD community. Findings showed no differences in knowledge about ASD among the various conditions, but did show that the non-scripted condition was higher (than the control condition) in ratings of stigma toward ASD. Additionally, the clustered profiles of knowledge and stigma revealed a low knowledge, low stigma group that was found to be significantly less likely to sympathize with the ASD community than the high knowledge, low stigma group. These results highlight the need for changes in the televised depictions of ASD, and the need for interventions for individuals who rate low on measures of prosociality. Results are discussed in terms of future research and applied implications.