Increased levels of autistic traits are associated with atypical moral judgments

Bibliographic Data

ID21284026
AuthorsEvan Clarkson (0000-0002-2306-6614, Indiana University Bloomington, corresponding author), John D Jasper (University of Toledo), Jason P Rose (0000-0002-4250-2530, University of Toledo), Gary J Gaeth (0000-0001-9514-8531, University of Iowa), Irwin P Levin (University of Iowa)
Year2023
Volume235
Pages103895
Publication date2023-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueActa Psychologica (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0001-6918 • E-ISSN: 1873-6297
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.103895
PMID36958201
OpenAlexW4353106353
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited48

Despite evidence often showing differences between groups with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and neurotypical controls in moral judgment, the precise nature of these differences has been difficult to establish. At least two reasons for this are (1) that ASD (and its associated characteristics) is difficult to define and (2) that morality, and the inclinations that undergird it, are hard to measure empirically. These challenges have made conclusive associations between ASD and particular patterns of moral judgment hard to come by. Thus, in the current study, participants levels of a traits associated with ASD were assessed by their responses to a questionnaire (i.e., the Iowa Screener) before they made moral judgments across a set of 20 moral dilemmas that independently assess utilitarian and deontological processing. Interestingly, results indicated that increased levels of autistic traits were associated with fewer moral judgments corresponding to either moral theory; that is, higher levels of autistic traits were associated with atypical patterns of moral judgment. In addition, and consistent with some prior methods (e.g., Gaeth et al., 2016), participant scores on the Iowa Screener, as well as their self-identification, were used to categorize participants between two groups (i.e., ASD and Typical) for exploratory purposes. Taken together, this research better informs the relationship between ASD and its associated traits with moral judgment and can inform certain discrepant findings in the field. Implications and ideas for future research are discussed, such as whether traits associated with ASD might relate to alternative moral inclinations, beyond deontology and utilitarianism

Autism · Autism spectrum disorder · Autistic traits · Developmental psychology · Moral development · Morality · Neurotypical · Set (abstract data type) · Autism Spectrum Disorder Research · Psychology · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment · Social Psychology · Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy

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