The article reviews the concept of social motivation and its role in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). It argues that social motivation deficits, rather than cognitive impairments, are central to ASD. Social motivation is defined as the psychological dispositions and biological mechanisms that bias individuals to preferentially orient to the social world, seek and take pleasure in social interactions, and work to foster and maintain social bonds. The review integrates evidence from various research areas, including behavioral, biological, and evolutionary perspectives, to provide an integrated picture of social motivation. It highlights that ASD can be seen as an extreme case of diminished social motivation, which disrupts social learning and the development of social cognition. The article also discusses the biological underpinnings of social motivation, such as the orbitofrontal-striatum-amygdala circuit, and suggests that disruptions in this circuit may underlie social impairments in ASD. Finally, it concludes that ASD provides a powerful model for understanding humans' intrinsic drive to seek acceptance and avoid rejection.The article reviews the concept of social motivation and its role in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). It argues that social motivation deficits, rather than cognitive impairments, are central to ASD. Social motivation is defined as the psychological dispositions and biological mechanisms that bias individuals to preferentially orient to the social world, seek and take pleasure in social interactions, and work to foster and maintain social bonds. The review integrates evidence from various research areas, including behavioral, biological, and evolutionary perspectives, to provide an integrated picture of social motivation. It highlights that ASD can be seen as an extreme case of diminished social motivation, which disrupts social learning and the development of social cognition. The article also discusses the biological underpinnings of social motivation, such as the orbitofrontal-striatum-amygdala circuit, and suggests that disruptions in this circuit may underlie social impairments in ASD. Finally, it concludes that ASD provides a powerful model for understanding humans' intrinsic drive to seek acceptance and avoid rejection.