Selective imitation across social and nonsocial demonstration contexts in ASD and typical development

Abstract

Background: Selective imitation reflects children's ability to evaluate others' actions by considering goals, efficiency, and contextual constraints. Although previous research has emphasized the role of social cues in imitation, less is known about how model sociality influences selective imitation in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Methods: Two studies examined selective imitation under social and nonsocial model conditions in children with ASD and typically developing (TD) children matched on cognitive developmental age. Chronological age was statistically controlled and multiple-comparison corrections were applied in all primary analyses. Study 1 examined selective imitation performance, whereas Study 2 examined gaze allocation during task demonstrations using wearable eye-tracking. Results: In Study 1, children with ASD and TD children showed broadly similar selective imitation performance across most social and nonsocial tasks once chronological age was controlled. A significant group difference remained only in the social door-closed task, in which children with ASD showed lower selective imitation scores than TD children. In Study 2, gaze allocation patterns toward the model's face, action area, and external environment were largely comparable across groups after controlling for chronological age. Initial exploratory group differences in face-directed attention did not remain significant after age-controlled analyses. Conclusion: These findings suggest that selective imitation in early childhood may be less consistently influenced by model sociality than previously assumed. Young children with ASD may demonstrate selective imitation patterns that are sensitive to situational constraints across both social and nonsocial contexts. The findings further highlight the importance of considering developmental factors, particularly chronological age, when interpreting selective imitation and social attention processes in ASD.