The Fair Decision-making of Children and Adolescents with High-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder from the Perspective of Dual-process Theories

Background: Fairness, as a core component of moral society, has received much attention. At present, there are inconsistencies in the findings regarding the fair decision-making of high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HF-ASD). Previous studies have shown that the fair decision-making of typically developing children is influenced by theory of mind(ToM) and executive function(EF).Dual-process theories propose that both intuitive processes and reasoning processes participate in fair decision-making. As those with HF-ASD have defects in both domains, this study aims to explore the differences in fair decision-making between children and adolescents with HF-ASD and those with typical development (TD). Methods: We used a mini ultimatum game (mini-UG) to explore 31 children and adolescents with HF-ASD and 38 children and adolescents with TD. Ttests and chi-square tests are used to compare group differences, Pearson correlation analysis and stepwise regression analysis was used to analyse the influencing mechanism of the two groups' unfair acceptance rates. Results: The results showed that children with HF-ASD were more likely to accept unfair offers, but when it came to adolescents, the difference was no longer significant. Regression analysis showed that the interaction between the Behavioral Regulation Index(BRI) and age could negatively predict the unfair acceptance rate of children and adolescents with HF-ASD. Working memory and ToM can negatively predict the unfair acceptance rate of those with TD. Conclusion: This study concluded that the development of fair decision-making by children and adolescents with HF-ASD fell far behind that of those with TD. Intuition processes play a dominant role in the fair decision-making processes of children and adolescents with HF-ASD, and we believe that comorbidity, age, experience and emotional management are important factors influencing the fair decision-making of individuals with HF-ASD.