Brief Report: Additive and Subtractive Counterfactual Reasoning of Children with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

The development of additive ('If only I had done…') and subtractive ('If only I had not done….') counterfactual reasoning was examined in children with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders (HFASD) (n = 72) and typically developing controls (n = 71), aged 6-12 years. Children were presented four stories where they could generate counterfactuals based on a given consequent (e.g., 'you left muddy footprints in the kitchen. How could that have been prevented?'). Children with HFASD increasingly used subtractive counterfactuals as they got older, but controls showed an increase in additive counterfactuals, which may be linked to their growing adaptive and flexible skills. Children with HFASD likely develop different strategies for their counterfactual reasoning. The role of IQ and ideational fluency will be discussed.

Exceptions and anomalies: An ERP study on context sensitivity in autism

“…Due to ERP constraints, exceptions had to be presented more explicitly in the current study than in the previous one, and we believe that this may have facilitated the reasoning process. This explanation is supported by research indicating that people with ASD have trouble processing implicit information (Begeer, Terwogt, Lunenburg, & Stegge, 2009;Dennis et al, 2001). Our data suggest that when exceptions are sufficiently explicit, high-functioning adults with ASD cease to have difficulties taking exceptions into account when reasoning with conditionals.…”

The development of counterfactual reasoning about doubly-determined events

“…Many studies of children's counterfactual reasoning have used subtractive counterfactuals, including that of Rafetseder et al (2013). However, when asked to spontaneously produce counterfactual alternatives to events, children produce up to five times more additive than subtractive counterfactuals (Begeer, Terwogt, Lunenburg, & Stegge, 2009;Guajardo & Turley-Ames, 2004;Guajardo, Parker & Turley-Ames, 2009). Guajardo et al (2009) argue that subtractive counterfactuals may place greater demands on working memory.…”

Developing Thoughts About What Might Have Been

“…Counterfactual thinking may be implicated in a range of clinical disorders, including depression (Markman & Miller, 2006) and autism (Beeger, Terwogt, Lunenburg, & Stegge, 2009). If many developments in counterfactual thinking are underpinned by different executive processes, researchers should explore subtle differences in counterfactual thinking in such disorders.…”