Mirroring Mechanical Metaphors: Materials for an Archaeology of
“Emotional Competence”, from Asperger to Robot-Assisted Autism
Therapy (RAAT)

k 2025

Mirroring Mechanical Metaphors: Materials for an Archaeology of “Emotional Competence”, from Asperger to Robot-Assisted Autism Therapy (RAAT)

FORNACCIARI, Ilaria

Základní údaje

Originální název

Mirroring Mechanical Metaphors: Materials for an Archaeology of “Emotional Competence”, from Asperger to Robot-Assisted Autism Therapy (RAAT)

Autoři

FORNACCIARI, Ilaria

Vydání

10th International Workshop on Historical Epistemology: Intersections of Psychological Research and Psychotherapeutic Practices. Institut für Medizingeschichte und Wissenschaftsforschung (IMGWF) Universität zu Lübeck, 2025

Další údaje

Typ výsledku

Prezentace na konferencích

Utajení

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

Odkazy

URL

Označené pro přenos do RIV

Klíčová slova anglicky

archeological analysis, cognitive turn, affective computing, emotional competence, Robot Assisted Autism Therapy (RAAT)

Štítky

affective computing, archeological analysis, cognitive turn, emotional competence, Robot Assisted Autism Therapy RAAT

Příznaky

Mezinárodní význam

Změněno: 26. 4. 2026 11:02, Ilaria Fornacciari, PhD.

Anotace

V originále

Among the metaphors and analogies recurrent in the representation of “autism”, those drawn from the field of technology are predominant (Draaisma, 2009; Hacking, 2009; Hacking, 2010; Osteen, 2010; Nadesan, 2013; Pinchevski & Peters, 2016). Their use spans various genres and discursive groups (key psychiatric texts, computer and engineering textbooks, novels, comics, etc.). The discontinuities among these metaphors within psychiatric discourses reflect distinct scientific-political configurations. Building upon this thesis, this presentation will specifically examine “emotional competence” as an object of observation and diagnosis that emerged in early postwar psychiatric discourse, and on the discontinuities introduced by the expansion of the composite field of cognitive science beginning in the 1970s (Gardner, 1987; Miller, 2003; Hetmański, 2018; Leys, 2019). Following a brief overview of the concept of “affective contact” in the early diagnostic literature on autism, this paper aims to expose the problematic relationship between a specific cognitive model of autism as “affective deficit” and the emergence of affective/social robotics. Methodologically, I will seek to integrate the historical and epistemological insights of critical discourse analysis with contemporary perspectives and instances from disability studies (Williams, 2021; Nagy, 2022; Williams, 2023; McInerney & Keyes, 2024). In particular, I will focus on the case of computational affective modeling for the treatment of “social and communicational deficits” (Picard, 1997; Kaliouby, Picard, & Baron-Cohen, 2006). To highlight the intersections between “psychotherapeutic practices” and interdisciplinary discursive formations in the presentation of this material will mean to show a mirroring configuration: the exploitation of a cognitive model of autism for the establishment of affective computing on one hand, and the normative emotional model of affective computing for the development of “emotional competence” prosthetics and training on the other. The presentation aims to argue that this circular relationship serves as a condition of possibility for the emergence of Robot-Assisted Autism Therapy.

Návaznosti

GX23-05692X, projekt VaV

Název: Roboti, programování člověka a autismus/Kulturní imaginace autismu a emoční umělé inteligence

Investor: Grantová agentura ČR, Roboti, programování člověka a autismus/Kulturní imaginace autismu a emoční umělé inteligence

Citovat

FORNACCIARI, Ilaria. Mirroring Mechanical Metaphors: Materials for an Archaeology of “Emotional Competence”, from Asperger to Robot-Assisted Autism Therapy (RAAT). In 10th International Workshop on Historical Epistemology: Intersections of Psychological Research and Psychotherapeutic Practices. Institut für Medizingeschichte und Wissenschaftsforschung (IMGWF) Universität zu Lübeck. 2025.

@proceedings{2488109,
   author = {Fornacciari, Ilaria},
   booktitle = {10th International Workshop on Historical Epistemology: Intersections of Psychological Research and Psychotherapeutic Practices. Institut für Medizingeschichte und Wissenschaftsforschung (IMGWF) Universität zu Lübeck},
   keywords = {archeological analysis, cognitive turn, affective computing, emotional competence, Robot Assisted Autism Therapy (RAAT)},
   title = {Mirroring Mechanical Metaphors: Materials for an Archaeology of “Emotional Competence”, from Asperger to Robot-Assisted Autism Therapy (RAAT)},
   url = {https://episthist.hypotheses.org/},
   year = {2025}
}

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ID  - 2488109
AU  - Fornacciari, Ilaria
PY  - 2025
TI  - Mirroring Mechanical Metaphors: Materials for an Archaeology of “Emotional Competence”, from Asperger to Robot-Assisted Autism Therapy (RAAT)
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N2  - Among the metaphors and analogies recurrent in the representation of “autism”, those drawn from the field of technology are predominant (Draaisma, 2009; Hacking, 2009; Hacking, 2010; Osteen, 2010; Nadesan, 2013; Pinchevski & Peters, 2016). Their use spans various genres and discursive groups (key psychiatric texts, computer and engineering textbooks, novels, comics, etc.). The discontinuities among these metaphors within psychiatric discourses reflect distinct scientific-political configurations. Building upon this thesis, this presentation will specifically examine “emotional competence” as an object of observation and diagnosis that emerged in early postwar psychiatric discourse, and on the discontinuities introduced by the expansion of the composite field of cognitive science beginning in the 1970s (Gardner, 1987; Miller, 2003; Hetmański, 2018; Leys, 2019). Following a brief overview of the concept of “affective contact” in the early diagnostic literature on autism, this paper aims to expose the problematic relationship between a specific cognitive model of autism as “affective deficit” and the emergence of affective/social robotics. Methodologically, I will seek to integrate the historical and epistemological insights of critical discourse analysis with contemporary perspectives and instances from disability studies (Williams, 2021; Nagy, 2022; Williams, 2023; McInerney & Keyes, 2024). In particular, I will focus on the case of computational affective modeling for the treatment of “social and communicational deficits” (Picard, 1997; Kaliouby, Picard, & Baron-Cohen, 2006). To highlight the intersections between “psychotherapeutic practices” and interdisciplinary discursive formations in the presentation of this material will mean to show a mirroring configuration: the exploitation of a cognitive model of autism for the establishment of affective computing on one hand, and the normative emotional model of affective computing for the development of “emotional competence” prosthetics and training on the other. The presentation aims to argue that this circular relationship serves as a condition of possibility for the emergence of Robot-Assisted Autism Therapy.
ER  -

FORNACCIARI, Ilaria. Mirroring Mechanical Metaphors: Materials for an Archaeology of “Emotional Competence”, from Asperger to Robot-Assisted Autism Therapy (RAAT). In \textit{10th International Workshop on Historical Epistemology: Intersections of Psychological Research and Psychotherapeutic Practices. Institut für Medizingeschichte und Wissenschaftsforschung (IMGWF) Universität zu Lübeck}. 2025.

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