Relationship between reasoning, autistic and alexithymic traits in moral judgments

Abstract

The present research investigated whether individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) present with specificities of moral reasoning. Some previous exploratory studies have assessed the differences in moral judgment between ASD and control participants, but results were mixed. The present study aimed to quantify such differences using a larger sample and a standard moral task built upon the new CNI (Consequences, Norms and Generalized Inaction) model of moral judgment that resolves multiple confounds in the measurement of moral judgments. A total of 148 adults with ASD and 151 controls completed 24 sacrificial dilemmas from the CNI battery, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale and the Cognitive Reflection Task. We did not find any differences in moral judgments between ASD and control participants, and this pattern was consistent for all the CNI parameters. Equivalence tests revealed that it can be safely excluded that our study missed medium to large differences in moral judgments between ASD and control participants when assessed using sacrificial dilemmas. Additional data quality checks allow to rule out the possibility that the small differences in moral judgments between the groups are due to poor data quality. The implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.