Social Motivation Theory

Social Motivation Hypothesis
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Social Motivation Hypothesis
The most convincing theory is relational motivation theory. The theory suggests that autism results due to an influence or deficit of social motivation. The ability to develop the reward value happens in the later months of the first year of an individual's life. Affected individuals have a reduced ability to respond to stimuli, such as voices and hand gestures. Failure to develop the neural regions' specialization occurs when a child does not get exposure to social motivation. According to Bernier, Webb, and Dawson (2006), autistic individuals thus lack experience-driven development in response to some stimuli. The reduction in the ability to respond to stimuli can result from a deficit in the dopaminergic reward system, activated by social rewards such as eye contact. Secondly, an abnormality in the basolateral amygdala is responsible for expressing a reward value. However, reward value results when there is an input from the orbitofrontal cortex. A defect in the neuropeptides, which m...