People with autism make more rational decisions, study shows

Post Reply New Topic

People with autism make more rational decisions, study shows

Interesting article.

I don't even have to read it to agree.

I'm the only rational decision-maker I know ;(

Not trying to discourage this idea, but this single study more so points to that language might be a key as to why those people with ASD tended to reply differently from those without an ASD.

A) The study was langauge based, the emotional manipulation was entirely langauge based.
B) ASDs influence development and understanding of langauge.
C) Language based tests generally don't represent global picture of an ability/several ability of those with autism spectrum disorder.

The study doesn't say anything about autistic people not being less irrationally ignorant or mad, less overly jealous or anything about their emotional involvement in a situation that is not based on verbal manipulation. Especially nothing about anxiety, fears, depression and such irrational stuff that highly influence behaviour and decision making of all people with these, including autistic people.

The test used Aspies, who, by the diagnostic criteria, can not have delays or deficiencies in language use.

I liked the abstract of the article that is currently available and wait eagerly for the full text of the study to become accessible (without subscription). What I read certainly hit the nail on the head in terms of this kind of decision. I have long described myself as "gambling impaired". I don't refrain from gambling due to ethical considerations; I just find it uninteresting. Conversely, I get exasperated (emotional response) when people tell me, as they often do, that I'm being too rational.

On that second point, I like Sora's comments. The language issues suggest that the pattern described this report is much more complex than implied by the published analysis. ASD folks are quite emotional about many things and the commentary in these reports seems to get stuck in the old "Mr Spock - pure rationality" stereotype.

Based on my own inner experience, I think that autism may give me a different set of paths to emotionality. If someone presents a set of data in words, as they did in this work, my path to my gut feelings seems to be triggered less often than it is for my more typically-minded associates.

Logical to a fault, they sometimes call it, as they roll their eyes

Where did I talk of deficiencies? The word 'influence' doesn't equate to deficiency in this langauge.

There is a deficiency though, indeed. Pragmatic language is quite impaired in people with asperger's. If this part of langauge use is not impaired, it's probably not even AS. Peculiarities in speech, literal interpretation are famous symptoms/traits associated with AS.

The ICD-10 also says



All of the above are deficiencies. Especially the bold part points into the direction of a possible explanation of what exactly the study actually 'discovered'.

Gillbergs's criteria say (not that I think much of these, but some unlike me do)

When I offer my input on life, people often tell me " Some things just are the way they are. They don't have to make sense". It honestly boggles my mind how so many can accept the illogical simply because they wish to follow the status quo.

Sounds like the studies which say eggs might increase cholesterol duh!! !

Anyway, I am known to go on emotional tangients, but they are aberrations, that's true.

Why am I not surprised?

People with autism are more averse to risk taking. They like predictable things. This reluctance probably makes the people with autism more likely to read the problem carefully before choosing to gamble. NT’s are more likely to pick quickly a whim. Because they choose quickly they are more influenced by the wording of the question.

I don't think this proves that autistic people will be more rational in other decisions.

Get used to it. There's a whole lot of illogical going on in the world. Cmmdr. Tuvok would simply collapse from aneurysm.

I wonder who performed this study? If they are on the spectrum themselves, the results are absolutely inadmissable as evidence.

Knowing when to hold 'em topic

I find gambling pointless. This is the addiction my NT ex-husband has.

Remember, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. This seems to have been lost on the ex-husband.

Clearly I was not part of this "study" otherwise the curve woulda been shot to hell.

Somehow, I always knew.