Abstract
This study investigated the development of deceptive behavior in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing children. We used a modified version of the game context and the temptation resistance paradigm. We tested two types of deception: concealing (simply hiding certain information from another person) and strategic (not only hiding information but also providing wrong information). Results showed that typically developing children started to engage in concealing deception at four years of age in the temptation resistance paradigm and at five years of age in the game context paradigm. On the other hand, children with ASD started to engage in concealing deception at a verbal mental age of seven years in both the temptation resistance and game context paradigms. Difficulty in spontaneously applying theory of mind in children with ASD was discussed.
