The association between punishment and cooperation in children with high-functioning autism

Jing Li; Liqi Zhu; Zhe Chen

doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2018.01.015

The association between punishment and cooperation in children with high-functioning autism

J Exp Child Psychol. 2018 Jul:171:1-13. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2018.01.015. Epub 2018 Feb 27.

Authors

Jing Li¹, Liqi Zhu², Zhe Chen³

Affiliations

¹ CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China. Electronic address: lij@psych.ac.cn.
² CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China. Electronic address: zhulq@psych.ac.cn.
³ Department of Human Ecology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.

PMID: 29494824
DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2018.01.015

Abstract

This study examined judgment about punishment and whether punishment promoted cooperation in the prisoner's dilemma game (PDG) in children with high-functioning autism (HFA) and typically developing (TD) children. In total, 66 6- to 12-year-olds participated in this study. Children were first asked about judgments regarding rewards and punishment in stories, and then they were asked to play the PDG with a partner in conditions with and without punishment. Results showed that children with HFA believed that hitting others should deserve punishment to a greater extent than TD children did. It indicated that children with HFA understood that bad acts should be punished, suggesting that these children have already acquired the general concept of "punishment." Children displayed higher levels of cooperation in the condition with punishment than in the condition without punishment in the PDG, suggesting that punishment promoted cooperation in the PDG in both children with HFA and TD children.

Keywords: Cooperation; High-functioning autism (HFA); Moral judgment; Prisoner’s dilemma game (PDG); Punishment; Typically developing (TD) children.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Autistic Disorder / psychology*
Case-Control Studies
Child
Cooperative Behavior*
Female
Games, Recreational
Humans
Judgment
Male
Punishment*
Reward