The fair decision-making of children and adolescents with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder from the perspective of dual-process theories

Jin, Peiying; Wang, Yao; Li, Yun; Xiao, Yunhua; Li, Chunyan; Qiu, Nana; Weng, Jiao; Fang, Hui; Ke, Xiaoyan

doi:10.1186/s12888-020-02562-8

Cited by 13 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…The task represents the conflict between the optimum distribution of rewards (Pareto optimal) and the optimum choice for an individual (Nash equilibrium) ( Apt & Grädel, 2011 ) It is considered an analogue of social interaction and as such it has been used a lot in autism research where social behaviour and interactions are key characteristics of the disorder. Findings concerning the PD task in autism, indicate that, cooperation could improves with age ( Jin et al, 2020 ; Kaartinen et al, 2019 ) and the development of executive functions ( Li, Zhu & Gummerum, 2014 ) and that reputation ( Maurer et al, 2018 ) and the nature of the opponent (actual human or machine) could also influence cooperation. These factors are important for both autistic ( Sally & Hill, 2006 ) and non autistic individuals ( Mienaltowski & Wichman, 2020 ; Milinski & Wedekind, 1998 ; Wang et al, 2012 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategic decision making and prediction differences in autism

Mantas

Pehlivanidis

Papanikolaou

et al. 2022

PeerJ

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Background Several theories in autism posit that common aspects of the autism phenotype may be manifestations of an underlying differentiation in predictive abilities. The present study investigates this hypothesis in the context of strategic decision making in autistic participants compared to a control group. Method Autistic individuals (43 adults, 35 male) and a comparison group (42 adults, 35 male) of age and gender matched individuals, played a modified version of the prisoner’s dilemma (PD) task where they were asked, if capable, to predict their opponents’ move. The predictive performance of the two groups was assessed. Results Overall, participants in the autism group had a significantly lower number of correct predictions. Moreover, autistic participants stated, significantly more frequently than the comparison group, that they were unable to make a prediction. When attempting a prediction however, the success ratio did not differ between the two groups. Conclusions These findings indicate that there is a difference in prediction performance between the two groups. Although our task design does not allow us to identify whether this difference is due to difficulty to form a prediction or a reluctance in registering one, these findings could justify a role for prediction in strategic decision making during the PD task.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategic decision making and prediction differences in autism

Mantas

Pehlivanidis

Papanikolaou

et al. 2022

PeerJ

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“…To date, published studies on the neuropsychological functioning of ASD show contrasting results due to methods issued without providing exhaustive answers in explaining the neuropsychological dysfunctions in the ASD population. Studies on social decision-making as cooperation indicated lower correct predictions of others' moves compared with TDCs (81) and an improvement of this ability with age (82,83). Moreover, for individuals with ASD, their cooperation relies on more rigid criteria that does not differ depending on the morality of the interacting partner (84).…”

Section: Discussion and Clinical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social and executive functioning in individuals with autism spectrum disorder without intellectual disability: The case–control study protocol of the CNeSA study

Donno¹,

Balia²,

Boi³

et al. 2023

Front. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry

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Several studies suggest that children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often present deficits in executive functions (EFs). The research on cold EF shows a high heterogeneity across different cohorts of patients as well as different study designs, while studies investigating hot EF and their relationship with different ASD phenotypes are still limited and related only to specific domains, although this concept could contribute to clarify the phenotypical variability by explaining the difficulties encountered by individuals with ASD in daily life, where stimuli are often emotionally charged. With the aim to identify specific neuropsychological profiles in children and adolescents with ASD without intellectual disability, we designed a study protocol comparing a clinical sample of individuals with ASD to aged-matched (10–17 years) typically developing controls (TDC) on a neuropsychological test battery investigating both “cold” and “hot” EF with the purpose of further investigating their relationships with ASD symptoms. Autonomic measures including heart rate, heart rate variability, skin conductance, and salivary cortisol were also recorded before/during/after the neuropsychological testing session. This paper describes the case–control study protocol named “Caratterizzazione NEuropsicologica del disturbo dello Spettro Autistico, senza Disabilità Intellettiva, CNeSA study,” its rationale, the specific outcome measures, and their implications for the clinical management of individuals with ASD and a precision medicine approach.

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“…Thus, while these norms may develop differently in autistic children, possibly due to differences in theory of mind (Sally & Hill, 2006), we propose that once these fairness norms are learned and established, they are implemented more consistently when given the chance to share resources in later adolescence and adulthood (Ikuse et al, 2018; Tei et al, 2019). For example, autistic children, but not adolescents, were more likely to accept unfair offers in the ultimatum game (Jin et al, 2020). This view is consistent with findings from other domains in which some autistic individuals use rules as part of compensatory strategies to navigate their social environments (Livingston et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autistic adults show enhanced generosity to socially distant others

Forbes,

Chaliani,

Schilbach

et al. 2023

Autism

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Sharing resources is fundamental for human cooperation and survival. People tend to share resources more with individuals they feel close to compared to those who are more socially distant. This decline in generosity at increasing social distance is called social discounting and is influenced by both social traits and abilities, such as empathy, and non-social psychological factors, such as decision-making biases. People who receive a diagnosis of autism show differences in social interaction as well as displaying differences in non-social domains, such as more restricted and repetitive behaviours. We investigated social discounting in autism and found that autistic adults were more generous than neurotypical participants, which was driven by greater generosity to socially distant others. Crucially, we also investigated framing effects during prosocial decision-making. Autistic participants were less susceptible to whether decisions were framed as causing monetary gains, compared to preventing monetary losses, for the potential recipient. Our results support the view of ‘enhanced rationality’ in autism as participants’ prosocial decisions were less influenced by potential biasing information, such as the closeness of the recipient or how choices were framed. Therefore, the differences seen in autism, as well as posing certain challenges, can also have prosocial consequences. Lay abstract Autistic people show differences in their social behaviour. But how autism affects decisions to share resources, an important part of cooperation, was previously unclear. In our study, participants made decisions about how to share money with different people, including people they felt close to, such as a friend, and people they felt less close to, such as a stranger. We found that compared to a group of non-autistic participants, autistic adults shared more money overall and this was driven by greater generosity to strangers. The results suggest that autistic adults were more generous because they made fair decisions (an equal split of the money) more consistently regardless of how close they felt to the person they were sharing with. By showing that autistic adults display greater generosity, our results could help to change public perceptions of autism and potentially improve opportunities for autistic people.

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The fair decision-making of children and adolescents with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder from the perspective of dual-process theories

Cited by 13 publications

References 47 publications

Strategic decision making and prediction differences in autism

Strategic decision making and prediction differences in autism

Social and executive functioning in individuals with autism spectrum disorder without intellectual disability: The case–control study protocol of the CNeSA study

Autistic adults show enhanced generosity to socially distant others

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