Associations between cooperation, reactive aggression and social impairments among boys with autism spectrum disorder.
Lower reactive aggression predicts more cooperative play in boys with autism.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Kaartinen et al. (2019) watched 58 boys with autism play a fishing game.
Each boy chose to fish alone or share the lake with two peers.
The team scored how often a boy cooperated and how often he hit or yelled when frustrated.
What they found
Boys who rarely hit or yelled made twice as many cooperative choices.
Older boys also shared the lake more often.
The link held even after IQ and language skills were counted.
How this fits with other research
Downs et al. (2004) showed that high-functioning kids with autism can cooperate as well as typical peers.
Miia’s team adds a new rule: cooperation rises only when reactive aggression stays low.
Konke et al. (2026) found that waiting for treats protects adaptive skills in toddlers at risk for autism.
Together the studies trace one line: stronger self-control—whether waiting or staying calm—boosts social success across ages.
Why it matters
You can’t assume a calm client will share toys. Check how he reacts when the game gets tough. Add simple anger brakes: a pause card, deep-breath prompt, or quick break. Less hitting today may mean more sharing tomorrow.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Cooperation is a fundamental human ability that seems to be inversely related to aggressive behaviour in typical development. However, there is no knowledge whether similar association holds for children with autism spectrum disorder. A total of 27 boys with autism spectrum disorder and their gender, age and total score intelligence matched controls were studied in order to determine associations between cooperation, reactive aggression and autism spectrum disorder-related social impairments. The participants performed a modified version of the Prisoner's Dilemma task and the Pulkkinen Aggression Machine which measure dimensions of trust, trustworthiness and self-sacrifice in predisposition to cooperate, and inhibition of reactive aggression in the absence and presence of situational cues, respectively. Autism spectrum disorder severity-related Autism Diagnostic Interview-algorithm scores were ascertained by interviewing the parents of the participants with a semi-structured parental interview (Developmental, Dimensional and Diagnostic Interview). The results showed that albeit the boys with autism spectrum disorder were able to engage in reciprocation and cooperation regardless of their social impairments, their cooperativeness was positively associated with lower levels of reactive aggression and older age. Thus, strengthening inhibition mechanisms that regulate reactive aggression might make boys with autism spectrum disorder more likely to prefer mutual gain over self-interest in cooperation.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2019 · doi:10.1177/1362361317726417