Moral foundations theory in autism spectrum disorder: A qualitative investigation

Abstract

Morality is important for how humans treat each other and non-human animals. Differences in moral reasoning have been found between autistic and neurotypical individuals. Research in this area has relied on accounts of moral psychology that suggest increasingly mature moral principles that develop from taking the perspectives of others. Yet, even autistic individuals, who sometimes differ in their ability to take others’ perspectives, make moral judgements that are similar to neurotypical individuals. Moral foundations theory suggests that moral psychology is not hierarchical but differs depending on culture. Moral foundations theory has not yet been investigated among autistic individuals. This qualitative study used interviews and qualitative analysis as a first attempt at understanding how moral foundations theory fits with autistic moral thinking. We found that all five moral foundations of moral foundations theory were represented in the interviews, yet certain foundations appeared more prominent than others. The autistic adults interviewed in our study discussed issues of care and fairness more than of loyalty, authority or purity when prompted to discuss moral transgressions. Future research should use quantitative methods to compare groups of autistic and neurotypical individuals to clarify similarities and differences in moral thinking between the groups. Lay abstract Morality is important for how humans treat each other and non-human animals. Differences in moral thinking have been found between autistic and neurotypical individuals. This research has relied on ways of thinking about moral psychology that suggest that mature morals develop as individuals learn to take the perspectives of others. Yet, even autistic individuals, who sometimes differ in their ability to take others’ perspectives, make moral judgements that are similar to neurotypical individuals. Moral foundations theory suggests that moral psychology is not hierarchical but differs depending on culture. This theory could therefore help make sense of similarities and differences in autistic and neurotypical moral thinking. Moral foundations theory has not yet been investigated among autistic individuals. In this study, we interviewed autistic adults as a first attempt at understanding how moral foundations theory fits with autistic moral thinking. We found that all five moral foundations of moral foundations theory were represented in the interviews, yet certain foundations appeared more prominent than others. The autistic adults interviewed in our study discussed issues of care and fairness more than of loyalty, authority or purity when prompted to discuss moral transgressions. Future research should use quantitative methods to compare groups of autistic and neurotypical individuals to clarify similarities and differences in moral thinking between the groups.

Moral Foundations Theory Among Autistic and Neurotypical Children

“…This interpretation, coupled with differences in verbal reasoning between groups, is consistent with our suggestion that moral psychology may develop through a pathway other than the commonsense psychology route suggested by rationalist theories. This interpretation also fits with results from Dempsey et al (2020) that the autistic adults in their study, who were generally politically left-wing, emphasized the importance of care/harm and fairness/reciprocity above the other moral foundations posited by Haidt (2001). This profile of moral foundations has been observed to differentiate politically left-from right-wing ideologies (Graham et al, 2009).…”

“…To the authors' knowledge, moral foundations theory has only been investigated in one study of autistic individualsa qualitative investigation of moral foundations theory among autistic adults (Dempsey et al, 2020). The aim of the current mixed methods study was to investigate moral decision making and reasoning among autistic youth from the perspective of moral foundations theory.…”

Do autistic traits predict pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors, and climate change belief?

“…Therefore, it follows that increased interest and connectedness with nature and non-human animals may increase pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors in those with high autistic traits. This may in part be driven by greater moral reasoning regarding protecting the environment and non-human animals from physical harm (Dempsey et al, 2020).…”

Exploring the ethics of political PR professionals using moral foundations theory

“…One of the authors (author 1) read all transcripts and elicited the parts that related to ethical reasoning. After that, the other author (author 2) coded the fragments based on Haidt’s moral foundations (see the details on such analytical technique in [ 76 ]). Then the codes were revised by author 1, and the final thematic categories were defined in discussion with author 2.…”