Strategic Deception in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Bob van Tiel, Gaétane Deliens, Philippine Geelhand and 2 others
PMID 32419043WHAT IT FOUND
Adults with ASD used deceptive moves at similar rates to adults without ASD when deception was needed to win, avoided traps at similar rates, but learned more across trials and were slower when avoiding traps.
Key findings
01In the Active phase, adults with ASD performed like adults without ASD when deception was necessary to win, and were more likely to use the deceptive move when it gave a higher score.
02In the Passive phase, adults with and without ASD avoided the trap at similar rates, but adults with ASD were slower when they made the optimal avoidance move.
03Across deception trials, adults with ASD improved more than adults without ASD: they were less likely to deceive early, but no group difference remained late.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The participants were high-functioning adults: all had a global IQ above 70, and mean IQ was 119 in the ASD group and 116 in the non-ASD group, so results may not apply to people who did not meet these criteria. The game was computerised and removed implicit social norms, facial expressions, and verbal cues, so it does not show how deception works in everyday conversation. The Passive phase always followed the Active phase, so order effects cannot be ruled out. The sample was modest, with 53 participants, and the authors' sensitivity analysis left room for differences of up to 11% in optimal behaviour in the Active phase and 8% in the Passive phase. Diagnosis groups differed in AQ and EQ scores, and the ASD group was marginally older, although age was included in the models.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that adults with ASD are equally good at everyday deception. The game used a computerised grid task with explicit rules and no social cues, and the authors state that real-life deception involves social norms and verbal and non-verbal behaviour.