Is it a spectrum trait?

[Neia]

I was just looking through my tv app and came across the photo of a person that causes me repulse when I look at them.

I've always had this "6th sense" of automatically recoiling from some people at first sight. They usually turn out to be some sort of nasty.

It's not a question of how attractive they are either. One of my most beloved friends is ugly. His head is an odd shape, eyes a bit too small... he reminds me, largely, of a bulldog. But he is one of the nicest guys I ever met, is funny, and would give his life for anyone in need.
On the opposite side, I've met people that everyone lauded, talked about with copious praises, are physically gorgeous, and my first thought when meeting them for the first time was "Eeeeew! Yuuuuck!" and they turned out to be horrid people.

Neither is it me being prejudiced against attractive people, because some other good friends of mine could have been models

I read somewhere that autistic people can notice things that NTs don't, and was wondering if this could be part of that.
It's gotten me into trouble with friends and family.

 

[Tired]

That's named "intuition" and "gut feeling", and everyone has it to some degree. Some feel it very good and precise, NT or ND, while others are pretty oblivious.

 

[Neia]

That's named "intuition" and "gut feeling", and everyone has it to some degree. Some feel it very good and precise, NT or ND, while others are pretty oblivious.

I was wondering because in my circles I don't know anyone else like that.

 

[jsilver256]

It's usually the other way around with me. I get betrayed by people who I had trusted. Had a particularly nasty incident in a prior job where the co-worker I was closest to, backstabbed me.

I learned later about the low theory of mind, which explained everything.

It might be that you have an ability to "pick out" features that are highly correlated to negative traits. I wonder about people who continuously dress up and take selfies. I take lots of pictures but never of myself.

 

[Outdated]

I think it's just a natural human trait, some have it stronger than others, especially if we grew up in a rough area or were bullied a lot as children. How to spot a predator.

 

[Mary Terry]

It's a human trait, not limited to NT or ND. And it's a very useful trait to have.

 

[Neia]

It's usually the other way around with me. I get betrayed by people who I had trusted. Had a particularly nasty incident in a prior job where the co-worker I was closest to, backstabbed me.

I learned later about the low theory of mind, which explained everything.

It might be that you have an ability to "pick out" features that are highly correlated to negative traits. I wonder about people who continuously dress up and take selfies. I take lots of pictures but never of myself.

Sorry about that. It really sucks when it happens.

 

[Suzanne]

Not sure if it is a trait, but I am also like that. And find it very uncomfortable.

 

[Aspychata]

I have had a second feeling about incredibly bad people, like it's their eyes, or their speech, or their lack of connecting that seems unhinged. Jeffrey Dalmer was able to really get over on unsuspecting people, so l know that being nice doesn't mean anything. I do have a cringe factor for people's voices also. I did see a psychopath once, l just immediately knew he was caple of anything in a store. In one of my really weird jobs in San Francisco, l did come up to a man who had killed others, his energy or aurora was black, and what was weirder was he knew l knew, and he left immediately. In Florida, l had a cashier who just gave me the creeps, l felt she had a steel coldness about her, l wouldn't meet her in a dark alley or trust her for anything.
It's an interesting post. Since l now live in Florida, the demographics are pretty bad. We are in the top five list of states for having the most convicted criminals, blue collar, white collar, it doesn't matter. I go on Next Door media site, and people endlessly talk about being scammed by about everybody.

Here are ten states with the most felons based on the number of disenfranchised individuals in 2022:

Florida – 1,150,944Tennessee – 471,592Texas – 455,160Alabama – 318,681Virginia – 312,540Arizona – 256,636Mississippi – 239,209Georgia – 234,410Kentucky – 152,727California – 97,328

 

[Neia]

I've gotten into trouble for warning friends about people they trusted.

 

[Roisin]

Threat assessment was my normal in childhood and being hypervigilent was necessary.

The Autistic pattern recognition contributed to my skill in this type of threat assessment and for a time before I was aware I was Autistic I believed I had a sixth sense, it was that accurate.

It made no sense to me that I could then have been so blindsided by an abusive narcissistic ex. The experiences that left me hypervigilent unfortunately also normalised unsafe boundaries and this coupled with Autistic social difficulties meant that I was trapped in a very dangerous marriage without realising it, until of course it was too late.
A double edged sword of sorts.

 

[8398]

I think it can be an autistic trait. Because, I've heard of a lot autistics saying that they can spot sociopaths quickly and I've heard self-aware sociopaths say that autistic people make them uncomfortable, because the same kind of social charm they use might not work the same way on the highly sensitive or some autistics. Well, to speak from experience.... I don't buy their shallow stuff, at least eventually. And, I've DEFINITELY had what you describe as that intuitive repulsion.

 

[Tom]

I'm uncertain about it. I agree it is a matter of human intuition in NTs and therefore logically also present in ASD folks. But what I am uncertain about is what effect autism can have on it. Personnally it feels like the sense is accentuated for me. And some others on the spectrum indicating the same feeling here and I believe I have heard it expressed before in a few past threads. But I don't really know what to make of it. Is it more accurate or is it simply activated easier, perhaps triggered by anxiety (and potentially falsely). I don't think testimony alone can say. It might be illuminated in studies.