Honesty, the Best Policy?
People with autism are “incapable of dishonesty” according to Professor Simon Baron-Cohen in an essay in In Character. Noting that the ability to dissemble—to tell “white lies” and “fudge” the truth—in certain interpersonal contexts can be desirable, Baron-Cohen writes that the capacity to be dishonest may be a distinctly human trait:
It is not the only defining characteristic, but it does separate us from other animals. Some nonhuman species may have a limited capacity for deception, but humans have a flexible, unlimited capacity for deception. And since anything that is uniquely human is likely to be part of our genetic makeup, it stands to reason that we are, in a sense, built for dishonesty — and those incapable of dishonesty, like people with autism, have a uniquely human disability. [my emphasis] Beyond having deficits in social interaction, they live with a different relationship to morality. Their experience is a unique window into the typical human mind.
As autism is a neurological condition that “leads not only to difficulties socializing and chatting but also to difficulties recognizing [my emphasis] when someone might be deceiving them or understanding how to deceive others,” Baron-Cohen notes that “[m]any children with autism are perplexed by why someone would even want to deceive others, or why someone would think about fiction or pretense.” He describes a boy with Asperger’s who, when another boy on the playground asked to “‘have a look’” at his wallet, was “shocked” when the other boy ran off with it; a 27-year-old Ph.D. student who has Asperger’s recently said to him, “‘I’ve just discovered that people don’t always say what they mean. So how do you know how to trust language?’”
Baron-Cohen is careful to note that, far from suggesting that autistic persons are “less evolved” in than non-autistic people, the autistic brain has “evolved differently”:
People with autism, who can perceive patterns better and concentrate better than their peers, are also more honest. Rather than regarding autism as a “disease,” we should recognize it as a difference that deserves our respect. Some features of it, like a learning or language disability, may benefit from treatment. But other features, like remarkable attention to detail and utmost honesty, are valuable human qualities.
And not only are they valuable, but they are highly useful qualities—if for no other reason than to keep the rest of us white liars more honest than we might be. “So how do you know how to trust language?” is a question that we all must address, whether in the courtroom or on the web or when reading a work of literature or when blogging: Since I started writing online in June 2005, my own policy has been to try to write in full honesty about our lives with autism and about Charlie.
On which note, here is an honest story about listening to one’s autistic child: Say he tells you “stairs” and names some item (his blanket), meaning that he wants one (this would be me, his mother) to go up stairs and retrieve said item. However, my suspicion is that he does not want the item, but he has an eye on a bag of marshmallows and, as he has heard me say, in no indefinite terms, “We need to save the rest for later,” he is engaging in a bit of subterfuge to get me out of the kitchen—–or maybe I am reading too much into this.
Yes, Charlie keeps me very honest.
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POSTED IN: Language, Psychology
27 opinions for Honesty, the Best Policy?
mcewen
Jul 20, 2007 at 1:39 pm
So does that mean I’m twice as honest as you are? [or just ’should’ be!]
Cheers
Max's Dad
Jul 20, 2007 at 1:52 pm
When my son Max w\Autism was 2 we would often take walks together. He would push is car along the sidewalk and at times push the car up into driveway. Knowing I would go get the car he would take off for the street.
Usually when there was a dog across the way.
Clever, yes. Honest, well ……
Kristina Chew, PhD
Jul 20, 2007 at 2:28 pm
mcewen, more like 3 or rather 4 times!
Max’s dad, maybe a hint of theory of mind—maybe—-
Eleanor
Jul 20, 2007 at 3:16 pm
Much as I am intrigued by a lot that Baron-Cohen has written, I have to say that I think he may be prone to overgeneralizations about autistic peple. The notion that autistic people are universally incapable of dishonesty doesn’t bear out. My son, who certainly has been correctly diagnosed with autism, knows how to lie and decieve. (Not well, but then again he’s only 7.) He also loves jokes, puns, word games, and making up “fiction” stories, etc., in a way that indicates that he is not really as literal-minded as autistics are often portrayed. Also, baron Cohen says without qualification that autistics can “concentrate better than their peers.” Really? My son’s teachers would laugh themselves sick if they heard that. And I’m thinking, too, about Amanda Baggs’ blog in which she wrote something like “The 70 steps it takes to make a phone call,” and her video of making tea… Honestly!
Bink
Jul 20, 2007 at 3:43 pm
My daughter is much like Eleanor’s son. She’s 7 and I think the first time I caught her lying to me she was about 5. Her father and I just glowed with pride. :-) She loves to write “books” as well.
Niksmom
Jul 20, 2007 at 3:52 pm
LOL…we haven’t run into this yet. But the first thing I thought of was Mom-NOS’s post about Bud learning to lie!
AJ
Jul 20, 2007 at 4:08 pm
I had the same reaction as Bink the first time we realized that JP was telling a lie — “Yippee! A neurotypical trick!!!” Of course, I hate, hate, hate lying in NTs - or anyone, for that matter - but I agree about overgeneralizing. JP usually lies to get out of discipline for doing something he knows full well he shouldn’t. Ely, on the other hand, doesn’t lie (yet) but she does manipulate to get what she wants from time to time. Maybe the theory of mind is stronger than we thought.
VAB
Jul 20, 2007 at 4:14 pm
We are teaching our guy (12) to lie. He gets it, it just doesn’t come naturally to him and he’s not sure where the clues are. He had a piece of candy out with me other other day (which he ate without any mess) and wanted to keep it a secret from his mum, so that he would still be eligible for dessert that evening. He figured out that he could do this by himself but his initial plan for deception was to go home, wash his hands a face and change his clothes so as “disguise” himself, so that his mother would never know.
daedalus2u
Jul 20, 2007 at 4:27 pm
I think the reduced ability to lie to other people goes along with being less able to lie to oneself. Seeing reality with crystal clarity without the distortion of wishful thinking is critically important for being a successful technologist.
I remember being in a group of fathers, and we were talking about our children lying. Some of them wanted their children to always tell the truth and were upset when they lied, even little transparent lies. I said that I wanted my children to be able to lie when necessary, such as if the Gestapo ever came to the door and asked “are there any Jews here”. That sort of ended the conversation.
Sarah
Jul 20, 2007 at 4:40 pm
The problem with Baron-Cohen is that he takes a trait many autistic people have, assumes that ALL autistic people have that trait, and then proceeds to misinterpret the reasons for the behavior. Autistic people are a diverse lot. Baron-Cohen’s tendencies to jump to conclusions and overgeneralize has led to some pretty shoddy autism research, IMHO. Unfortunately some of the mental health professionals whom I’ve encountered know ONLY the silly Baron-Cohen “Theory of Mind” theory and nothing else about autism. His generalizations about autistic people sure don’t do many favors for them, in my personal experiences.
George Wade
Jul 20, 2007 at 5:44 pm
It is not just Prof Baron-Cohen who generalises, like that; it is a disease of much of western logical academia. The only cure is to leave or to arrange to get kicked out.
I’m leaving, because I don’t get anywhere with the rigid categories and polarities. I do get a lot out of MB12 and Thoughtful House groups.
Thank you for the ideas I’ve been able to take from you. You would be welcome to join us but I won’t entice…
Ralph Savarese
Jul 20, 2007 at 6:57 pm
I so agree withe Eleanor and Sarah. Though SBC has apparently learned something from the neurodiversity movement, he can’t help but “other” people with autism. New research has shown how the overly generalized “theory of mind” hypothesis, like the claim of mental retardation, depended on badly suited tests. It MAY be that some with autism can’t tell a lie–my son DJ has no problem with this now at all!!!–it could also be that SBC’s tests are problematic or, further, that whatever social lag (not inate deficit) that often accompanies autism accounts for the apparent inability. So, let’s remember the principle of heterogeneity and the long history of inaccurate testing and prejudice when it comes to autism.
christschool
Jul 20, 2007 at 6:58 pm
George Wade, shame on you for spamming this blog with your multi-level marketing scam.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Jul 20, 2007 at 7:21 pm
I’ve come to read SBC’s writings with several dashes of salt. I can see where the root of his ideas is, but when I apply them to my son and our experience with him, things do not measure up. The all-time classic “deception” of Charlie’s is an insistent “no,” several times repeated, in regard to the bathroom, although visual evidence would suggest that it is really actually “yes” and—based on the fact that he is quick to run into said room, even while still saying no”—-he knows what needs to be done.
I guess one might point out that SBC over-generalizes……
Daisy
Jul 20, 2007 at 7:41 pm
I kept thinking of the old classic Star Trek and the idea that Vulcans could not lie, either. Was Spock on the spectrum? :)
George Wade
Jul 20, 2007 at 8:45 pm
What has Baron-Cohen, Western logic, MB12 and Thoughtful House got to do with spamming?
I read AutismVox for a couple of weeks, left to look at some practical concepts, and am explaining why I have left this blog, instead of just shuffling off.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Jul 20, 2007 at 9:01 pm
Doesn’t Temple Grandin write about “dating Data” in Thinking in Pictures?
Always glad to hear from any voices here, though (to be honest) I do have my own views on certain things!
Do'C
Jul 20, 2007 at 10:03 pm
Perhaps your link to Waiora is a dead giveaway, George. Read up on NCD Zeolite
George Wade
Jul 20, 2007 at 10:47 pm
What the link to Waiora doesn’t show, Do’C is that the line I’m in has a NPO component and we are funding a clinical study.
If ChristSchool had not done the Western Logical confrontational thing: very few people would have noticed it. That was my intention, I don’t think that’s spam.
I’m visiting friends who brought their child to normal behaviour and learning, nearly, by getting him to practice drawing: which he is now very good at. He is also perfectly calm at home, not continually excited, as before. Some changes in thinking are powerful enough to change brain chemistry; that is why I don’t like to be around confrontation: though that, latter, may be connected to toxicity and deficiencies in diet as well as to logic designed to control the world.
Let’s not put each other down. The views on Autism Street and AutismVox help to keep the NCD clinical study honest.
Aidoann
Jul 20, 2007 at 11:59 pm
Theoretically, I am capable of lying. However, I prefer not to.
Daisy - There has been lots of conversation and debate about Vulcans (especially Spock) and AS. Different people come to different conclusions, but he does show several traits of AS.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Jul 21, 2007 at 12:31 am
I have written about this before—in keeping with the “honesty theme,” I’ll note that we have tried a number of biomedical treatments for Charlie, all while emphasizing his education. Teaching Charlie using methods that are individualized and attentive to his learning style, sensory and attention needs, and level of language has proved the most durable “treatment.”
Am with you Aidoann: I prefer not to lie too.
kyra
Jul 21, 2007 at 12:32 pm
people on the autism spectrum are on the autism spectrum. i think any generalizations beyond that ought to be made very carefully! fluffy loves to bend the truth and has been known to lie. but perhaps the most telling thing is when he said, ‘if you don’t know how you’re feeling, how can you know if you’re telling the truth or a lie?’ hmmm.
KimJ
Jul 21, 2007 at 4:14 pm
I’m with Eleanor and Sarah. Baron Cohen is very frustrating as he seems to have come to the Light as far as Neurodiversity goes. (I think his cousin, Sascha, collaborates quite well on portraying ND along with the discrimination that plagues it)
However, as has been mentioned, he generalizes on notions and turns them into very popular myths about autistic people. My son at 7 and “classically autistic” can and does lie quite often. He’s not good at it and he can’t keep a common household secret either. (I have the same trait) But he doesn’t lack motivation to lie.
Ability and skill in dishonesty perhaps is rooted in the ability and habit of containing several emotions at once, while utilizing sensory filters to pull off a good performance. A more sophisticated version of “playing nice”, “looking attentive”, and “being grateful”.
Jen
Jul 21, 2007 at 7:57 pm
I think this one was disproven to me several years ago, when a professor I had told us this theory. It wasn’t even a week later when a child I was working with at the time told me his first ever lie. Granted, it took him a week to figure out that if he lied and said he was younger, he might get to use the toys for the smaller kids. Not much longer after that, he lied convincingly, and told me he had a dog. I’d only ever heard about the cat and birds before that, but he did it so well I had to ask his brother whether or not it was true. He wasn’t/isn’t really even comfortable enough around dogs to have one in the house.
Grand Rounds at the Beach
Aug 7, 2007 at 3:39 am
[…] Dr. Kristina Chew at AutismVox examines the concept of honesty in light of autism. […]
David Harmon
Aug 8, 2007 at 1:08 pm
Sounds like SBC wants things to be “simple”. Tough luck to him…. I’ve discussed this with others, but my take is that “lying” is another of those massively overloaded terms inherited from the “common experience”… mostly of NTs. It bundles together several actions and responses that really come from different developmental, cognitive, and social sources.
Those AS subtypes who have trouble with “theory of mind” will be slow to learn that they can fool other people, and then to learn when they can or can’t make it work. If they have trouble with social constraints and perceptions, they may not see the point of “white lies”, or know when or how to use them. Boundary issues will undercut their use of ’social discretion”, and so on. In all cases, they may well be able to compensate over time, through neuroplasticity, high-level learning, or anything in between.
For my own case, I’ve got Non-Verbal Learning Disorder, and I was pretty late learning about social lies, and later about tactical lying and boundaries. Even now, a falsehood (mine or others’) feels actively unpleasant, even threatening, like the world’s fabric has been torn a little bit..
rashreflection
Jul 29, 2008 at 6:28 pm
I used to lie to my parents about a variety of things, years ago. Most of the time it was to avoid confrontation in situations where I did not feel it was necessary.
Baron-Cohen has his heart in the right place, but he needs to realize that this spectrum is so wide as to defy the vast majority of generalizations.
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