Peking University.
University of Chicago.
Child Dev. 2019 Sep;90(5):e584-e597. doi: 10.1111/cdev.13206. Epub 2019 Jan 8.
We examined explicit and implicit processes in response to third-party moral transgressions in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Twenty 4- to 7-year-old children with ASD and 19 typically developing controls evaluated dynamic visual stimuli depicting intentional or accidental harm to persons or damage to objects. Moral evaluations, eye fixations, and pupil dilations toward the stimuli were collected. Results indicate a preserved capacity to understand the mental states of perpetrators and an implicit moral sensitivity to the third-party harms in children with ASD. Nonetheless, children with ASD showed specific sensitivity and emotional arousal when viewing damage to objects. These findings contribute to the understanding of the underlying mechanisms of moral reasoning in ASD and its possible association with the autistic symptoms.
我们研究了自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童对第三方道德违规行为的外显和内隐过程。我们评估了 20 名 4 至 7 岁的 ASD 儿童和 19 名典型发育儿童对描绘对人有意或无意伤害或对物体造成损害的动态视觉刺激的反应。收集了道德评价、眼动注视和对刺激的瞳孔扩张。结果表明，ASD 儿童有能力理解施动者的心理状态，并对第三方伤害有内隐的道德敏感性。尽管如此，当观看物体损坏时，ASD 儿童表现出特定的敏感性和情绪唤醒。这些发现有助于理解 ASD 中道德推理的潜在机制及其与自闭症症状的可能关联。
