Exploring how autistic adults engage in deceptive communication and detect deception.

The prevalence of autism in the general population is 1%, but increases to 2-18% in forensic populations (Rutten et al., 2017). As autistic adults often display different social behaviours than neurotypical adults, they may be perceived as deceptive even when telling the truth (Lim et al., 2022). Consequently, autistic adults may be uniquely vulnerable to negative contacts in the Criminal Justice System (CJS). Moreover, due to cognitive and emotional differences, autistic adults may be less accurate at detecting deception, increasing their risk of being victimised or manipulated. This innovative research will investigate to what extent autistic and neurotypical adults differ in their ability to deceive and detect deception, and identify causal mechanisms underpinning these differences.
The Brunswick Lens Model serves as the theoretical framework for this proposal (Brunswick, 1955; Figure 1). At step 1, senders choose to lie. Autistic adults may choose to lie less than neurotypical individuals if they fail to recognise the benefit of lying (Lim et al., 2021). At step 2, senders display deception cues when lying, including unusual eye-gaze and body language (DePaulo et al., 2003). However, autism is commonly characterised by atypical eye-contact and body language, meaning autistic adults may display different cues when engaging in deception compared to neurotypical adults. Resultantly, autistic adults may be at increased risk of their natural behaviours being misinterpreted as deceptive. At step 3, receivers perceive cues to deception; neurotypical individuals may naturally perceive certain behaviours (such as atypical eye-gaze) as deception cues, causing autistic adults to be erroneously viewed as deceptive (DePaulo et al., 2003; Lim et al., 2022). However, if the sender is known to be autistic, receivers may not regard atypical eye-gaze as deceptive. At Step 4, receivers decide whether senders are lying. To accurately detect deception, receivers must understand the mental states of others, implement higher-order executive skills, and comprehend senders' social cues (DePaulo et al., 2003). However, some autistic adults experience difficulties with Theory of Mind (ToM), executive functioning, and social cue comprehension (Lim et al., 2021). These psychological differences may reduce autistic adults' deception detection abilities, potentially increasing their vulnerability to manipulation.