Abstract
This study compared moral and social reasoning in individuals with and without autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Ten familiar
schoolyard transgressions were shown to 18 participants with and 18 participants without ASD. They judged the appropriateness
of the behavior and explained their judgments. Analysis of the rationales revealed that participants with typical development
used significantly more abstract rules than participants with ASD, who provided more nonspecific condemnations of the behaviors.
Both groups judged social conventional transgressions to be more context-bound than moral transgressions, with this distinction
more pronounced in typically developing individuals, who also provided significantly more examples of situations in which
the depicted behaviors would be acceptable. The educational implications of these findings for individuals with ASD are discussed.
schoolyard transgressions were shown to 18 participants with and 18 participants without ASD. They judged the appropriateness
of the behavior and explained their judgments. Analysis of the rationales revealed that participants with typical development
used significantly more abstract rules than participants with ASD, who provided more nonspecific condemnations of the behaviors.
Both groups judged social conventional transgressions to be more context-bound than moral transgressions, with this distinction
more pronounced in typically developing individuals, who also provided significantly more examples of situations in which
the depicted behaviors would be acceptable. The educational implications of these findings for individuals with ASD are discussed.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Category Original Paper
- Pages 1-13
- DOI 10.1007/s10803-011-1369-8
- Authors
- Cory Shulman, School of Social Work, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, 91905 Jerusalem, Israel
- Ainat Guberman, David Yellin Academic College of Education, Jerusalem, Israel
- Noa Shiling, School of Social Work, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, 91905 Jerusalem, Israel
- Nirit Bauminger, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
- Journal Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
- Online ISSN 1573-3432
- Print ISSN 0162-3257