19481
Miss Alida M Acosta Ortiz
Objectives:
To identify whether there is a difference between ASD and TD adults in the rate of acceptance/rejection of an unfair offer (£3-£7) in the Ultimatum Game.
To examine the link between an individual’s decisions during the UG and their ToM, empathising and systemising skills; their propensity to adhere to principled moral rules, and their tendency to avoid punishment and/or seek rewards.
Methods: 40 ASD and 32 TD adults, matched on age and IQ, participated in a real-life one-shot UG. They were asked to decide whether to accept or reject an offer of £3 out of £10. Participants also completed some cognitive tasks including the Reading the mind in the eyes test (Baron-Cohen et al 2001), the empathising and systemising questionnaires (Baron-Cohen, 2009), the behavioural inhibition/activation scales (Carver & White, 1994) and an ethics position questionnaire (EPQ; Forsyth, 1980).
Results:
Overall, our results indicated no group difference in the proportion of participants who rejected the unfair offer (ASD = 47%; TD = 45%). As expected, ASD participants scored lower on ToM and empathising and had significantly higher scores on the behavioural inhibition scale, suggesting that they might be more sensitive to losses. No group differences were observed on systemising, the BAS scale or the EPQ. 2x2 ANOVAs of the various dependant measures showed that in both groups those who accepted unfair offers score higher in ToM and lower in BIS. Interestingly, the only group difference emerged in relation to the EPQ where only ASDs who rejected unfair offers scored higher than those who accepted.
Conclusions: The current data do not suggest that ASDs respond differently to ‘fairness’ than TD participants in the Ultimatum Game. ToM abilities and sensitivity to losses appeared to motivate decisions to reject unfair offers to similar extents in both groups. Interestingly, however, results from the EPQ suggest that ASDs may be more reliant on a moral heuristic than TD individuals in reaching their decisions