Goal-directed action control in children with autism spectrum disorders.
Autistic kids can drop a 'no-longer-worth-it' action just like peers, so look beyond the habit system when repetitive behavior sticks around.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers tested autistic and non-autistic kids on a simple choice task. Kids first learned that pressing one button gave candy, another gave popcorn. After they ate lots of the candy until they did not want it, the team watched which button they still pressed.
The task tells us if the child can shift behavior when the reward loses value. That skill is called goal-directed control. The study used the same lab game later used with adults.
What they found
Both groups stopped pressing the button for the now-yucky candy. Autistic children showed the same flexible, goal-directed choice as their peers.
The result says autistic kids do not have a built-in habit bias. Their repetitive play or movements likely come from other causes, not a stuck habit system.
How this fits with other research
van Timmeren et al. (2016) ran the same candy test with autistic adults and saw the opposite. Adults kept pressing for the food they just ate until it was gone. Age seems to matter: kids appear flexible, adults look stuck.
Zalla et al. (2006) earlier claimed autistic people fail to organize action steps. The 2014 child data update that view: sequencing may be hard, but the basic habit-goal balance is intact in childhood.
Green et al. (2020) found autistic adults stay shaky when learning new arm movements. Together the papers hint that motor planning, not habit strength, may drift off track with age.
Why it matters
If a child with autism keeps lining up cars, do not assume a rigid habit loop. Try changing the payoff first: hide the cars for a while and offer a new fun item. Many kids can shift when the old reward is gone. Track if the skill stays or fades as the client grows; teens and adults may need extra help to update their choices.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Repetitive behavior is a key characteristic of autism spectrum disorders. Our aim was to investigate the hypothesis that this abnormal behavioral repetition results from a tendency to over-rely on habits at the expense of flexible, goal-directed action. Twenty-four children with autism spectrum disorders and 24 age- and gender-matched controls (8-12 years) initially learned to give specific responses to different pictorial stimuli in order to gain valuable outcomes. Subsequently, in the "slips-of-action" test, some of these outcomes were no longer valuable. Children needed to refrain from responding when stimuli were shown that signaled the availability of those outcomes while continuing to respond for the still-valuable outcomes. Reliance on habits should lead to "slips of action" toward no longer valuable outcomes. Therefore, the children's ability to respond selectively for still-valuable outcomes provides a measure of relative habitual versus goal-directed control. Two additional tasks were included to control for general task characteristics (i.e. working memory and inhibition). Children with autism spectrum disorders learned equally well as controls and were not impaired at flexibly adjusting their behavior to devaluation of the outcomes or stimuli. We found no evidence for a disruption in the balance between goal-directed and habitual behavioral control in children with autism spectrum disorders.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2014 · doi:10.1177/1362361313477919