Effect of empathic ability on white lie cognition among autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disabilities

In interpersonal communication, white lies are often used to consider the feelings of others or to avoid the negative consequences of telling the truth. Understanding the relationship between children's empathic ability and white lie cognition cannot only help to comprehend the development process of children's white lies and deepen the research in children's moral development and social cognition, but also provide a theoretical basis for educating children on white lie cognition and fostering prosocial behavior. Although white lie cognition is well-documented in children with typical development, the role of empathic ability in this process remains under-researched in neurodiverse populations. This study examined the influence of empathic ability on white lie cognition in children with autism spectrum disorder and children with intellectual disability. A white lie cognition task and an empathy continuum test were administered to assess the performance and differences among children with typical development, ASD, and ID across various dimensions of white lie cognition and empathic ability. Results: (1) Significant differences in cognitive empathy, emotional empathy, and evaluations of both the degree and morality of white lies were observed among autism spectrum disorder, children with intellectual disabilities, and children with typical development. The stronger a child's cognitive and emotional empathy, the easier it was to evaluate the degree of white lie and its moral implications. (2) Autism spectrum disorder demonstrated significantly lower empathic ability and white lie cognition compared with those with intellectual disabilities. Moreover, greater empathic ability in these children was associated with improved white lie cognition. (3) Across children with typical development, autism spectrum disorder, and children with intellectual disabilities, when empathic ability scores were higher, cognitive empathy and emotional empathy could positively predict all aspects of white lie cognition. These results indicate that the empathic ability of autism spectrum disorder and children with intellectual disabilities can directly affect their white lie cognition. In these children, higher empathic ability is associated with improved cognition of white lies and promotes accurate evaluations of both the degree and morality of white lies.