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Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Errors as a Means of Reducing Impulsive Food Choice
Published on: June 5, 2016
Adults with autism show increased sensitivity to outcomes at low error rates during decision-making
Arpi Minassian1, Martin Paulus, Alan Lincoln
1Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, 200 West Arbor Drive, Mailcode 8620, San Diego, CA 92103-8620, USA. aminassian@ucsd.edu
Abstract:
Decision-making is an important function that can be quantified using a two-choice prediction task. Individuals with Autistic Disorder (AD) often show highly restricted and repetitive behavior that may interfere with adaptive decision-making. We assessed whether AD adults showed repetitive behavior on the choice task that was unaffected by changing task demands, by examining the influence of experimenter-determined error rates on decision-making. Sixteen AD adults and 14 typically developed subjects were administered a two-choice task using three error rate conditions. Although AD subjects showed occurrences of stereotyped responding, their decision-making behavior was strongly affected by changes in task demands, especially when they experienced frequent success. Thus, behavioral paradigms that provide frequent reinforcement may be helpful in modifying decision-making abilities in AD.
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