Fig 1.
Example of stimuli from the distance preference task.
Participants viewed a video clip depicting a stranger moving toward them or away from them. In each trial, participants were asked to stop the stranger at the distance with which they felt comfortable. See link for the full videos (https://osf.io/n7yfr/).
Fig 2.
Distance estimation bias task.
Participants viewed a still photo depicting a stranger standing at a certain distance, followed by a clip depicting the stranger moving toward or away from them. On each trial, participants were asked to stop the stranger at the exact distance as depicted in the still photo.
Fig 3.
Means and confidence intervals (95%) as a function of group (autistic versus non-autistic).
(A) Distance Preference, (B) Distance Estimation Bias. Note: The scores of distance preference and estimation bias did not differ between the groups on average, however, in both cases the variance was significantly larger in the autistic group.
Fig 4.
Preference-estimation association.
Correlation between Distance Estimation Bias (in cm) and Distance Preference (in cm), as a Function of Group. Note: Results indicate that overestimation of distance predicts a preference for greater distance among autistic individuals, and this correlation differs significantly from the non-autistic group participants. (Note: * = p < 0.05, ** = p < 0.01, *** = p < .001).