Valence‐Arousal Asymmetry: Rethinking Facial Emotion Recognition in Preschool Autism Through Eye‐Tracking

ABSTRACT

Facial emotion recognition is a fundamental socioemotional skill often impaired in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Yet findings remain inconsistent, partly due to reliance on discrete emotion categories that neglect affective dimensions. Guided by a valence–arousal framework, this study re‐examined facial emotion recognition in preschool children with ASD using eye‐tracking and pupilometry. Eighty‐two Chinese preschoolers (40 ASD, 42 typically developing [TD]) completed an emotion recognition task with facial stimuli systematically varied in valence (positive vs. negative) and arousal (high vs. low). Eye movements and pupil size were analyzed within a 2 (group) × 2 (valence) × 2 (arousal) × 4 (AOI: eyes, nose, mouth, other) design. Results showed robust effects of valence: TD children allocated more fixations and longer gaze to positive faces, especially the eye region, whereas ASD children showed attenuated patterns. Arousal effects were weaker but interacted with valence, with high‐arousal negative faces eliciting avoidance and high‐arousal positive faces enhancing pupil responses. These findings highlight valence–arousal asymmetry as a key mechanism underlying atypical emotion processing in preschool ASD and underscore the value of dimensional approaches for early socioemotional assessment and intervention.