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There is mixed evidence regarding how persons with ASD deal with deception. Some studies show that autism is related to difficulties in lying, others show no differences between individuals with ASD and typically developing persons in use of deception. It may be that individuals with ASD have difficulties in understanding what lying is.

In Study 1 (N = 66) we matched a sample of individuals clinically diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder with typically developing individuals. Study 2 (N = 256) was conducted with participants from the general population. We asked participants to evaluate deceitfulness of protagonists’ behavior in stories presenting other-oriented and self-oriented lying.

The results suggest that the higher the autistic traits, the less individuals perceive the liar as behaving intentionally. In the case of more complex, other-oriented lies, autistic traits indirectly relate to …