SUBMITTED ARTICLE
Accoun ing o he p e e ence o li e al
meanings in au ism spec um condi ions
Agus ín Vicen e
1
| Ing id Lossius Falkum
2
1
Depa men o Linguis ics and Basque
S udies, Ike basque & Uni e si y o he
Basque Coun y (UPV/EHU), Biscay,
Spain
2
Depa men o Linguis ics and
Scandina ian S udies (ILN)/Depa men
o Philosophy Classics, His o y o A and
Ideas (IFIKK), Uni e si y o Oslo, Oslo,
No way
Co espondence
Agus ín Vicen e, Micaela Po illa
Resea ch Cen e, Jus o Vélez de
Elo iaga, 1, 01006, Vi o ia-Gas eiz,
Spain.
Email: [email p o ec ed]
Funding in o ma ion
Ekonomia en Ga apen e a Lehiako asun
Saila, Eusko Jau la i za, G an /Awa d
Numbe : IT1396-19; Euskal He iko
Unibe si a ea, G an /Awa d Numbe :
GIU18/221; H2020 Eu opean Resea ch
Council, G an /Awa d Numbe : 853211;
Minis e io de Ciencia e Inno aci
on,
G an /Awa d Numbe :
PGC2018-093464-B-I00
P agma ic di icul ies a e conside ed a hallma k o
au ism spec um condi ions (ASC), bu emain poo ly
unde s ood. We discuss and e alua e exis ing hypo he-
ses ega ding he li e alism o ASC indi iduals, ha is,
hei endency o li e al in e p e a ions o non-li e al
communica i e in en ions. We p esen e idence ha
e eals a de elopmen al s age a which neu o ypical
child en also ha e a endency o li e alism and sugges
an explana ion o such beha iou ha links i o o he
beha iou al, ule- ollowing, pa e ns ypical o ha
age. We discuss e idence showing ha s ic adhe -
ence o ules is also widesp ead in ASC, and sugges
ha li e alism migh be linked o such ule- ollowing
beha iou .
KEYWORDS
au ism spec um condi ions, de elopmen , li e alism,
p agma ics, ule- ollowing beha iou
1|INTRODUCTION
Wha a speake means by an u e ance ypically goes beyond he li e al meanings o he wo ds
and sen ences she has used. A key assump ion unde lying con empo a y heo ies o human
communica ion is ha app op ia e use and in e p e a ion o language in ol es p agma ics
skills— ha is, he in e en ial capaci ies ha enable us o b idge he gap be ween linguis ic
Recei ed: 7 July 2020 Re ised: 29 Ma ch 2021 Accep ed: 30 Ma ch 2021
DOI: 10.1111/mila.12371
This is an open access a icle unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion-NonComme cial License, which pe mi s use,
dis ibu ion and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed and is no used o comme cial pu poses.
© 2021 The Au ho s. Mind & Language published by John Wiley & Sons L d.
Mind & Language. 2023;38:119–140. wileyonlinelib a y.com/jou nal/mila 119
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(li e al/con en ional) meanings and speake meanings in con ex (see, e.g., Ca s on, 2002;
Spe be & Wilson, 1986/1995).
Impai men s in such p agma ic easoning abili ies, ha is, di icul ies wi h app op ia e use
and in e p e a ion o language, a e conside ed a hallma k o au ism spec um condi ions (ASC)
(Tage -Flusbe g, Paul & Lo d, 2005). In pa icula , indi iduals diagnosed wi h ASC a e said o
be excessi ely li e alis s, in he sense ha hey end o p e e li e al in e p e a ions o wo ds and
u e ances, e en when speake s ha e non-li e al in en ions (Chahboun, Vulchano , Saldaña,
Eshuis & Vulchano a, 2016,2017; Vulchano a, Talco , Vulchano & S anko a, 2012;
Walenski & Lo e, 2017; see Sec ion 2.4 o discussion o he e idence).
1,2
Recen ly, howe e , some s udies ha e sugges ed ha he la gely he e ogenous popula ion o
ASC indi iduals may no be cha ac e ised by global p agma ic impai men s (Hochs ein, Bale &
Ba ne , 2018), and ha many high unc ioning ASC indi iduals a e able o unde s and scala
implica u es (Van Tiel & Kissine, 2018) me apho s (Kasi e & Mashal, 2016), and e en i ony
(Glenw igh & Agbayewa, 2012). Howe e , i is s ill ue ha mos indi iduals on he spec um
ha e di icul ies unde s anding non-li e al uses o language, he unde lying causes o which a e
deba ed (No bu y, 2014). Mo eo e , when a li e alis bias is es ed (as in Chahboun e al., 2016,
2017; Walenski & Lo e, 2017), he sugges ion is ha such di icul ies ela e o such li e alis
bias, and no jus o di icul ies wi h non-li e al uses o language ha may also appea in o he
condi ions, such as in de elopmen al language diso de s (DLD: see below). Hypo heses include
an impai men in “ heo y o mind”abili ies (Ba on-Cohen, Leslie & F i h, 1985) and conse-
quen di icul ies in unde s anding he speake 's in en ion (Happé, 1993; Rundblad &
Annaz, 2010a), “weak cen al cohe ence,”which biases owa ds local, de ail- ocused a he
han global in o ma ion p ocessing and makes he in eg a ion o con ex ual in o ma ion di i-
cul (Happé, 1999), execu i e dys unc ion (Hill, 2004) which impedes inhibi ion o he li e al
meaning and lexibili y in going beyond igid, li e al in e p e a ions, and lack o su icien
seman ic/wo ld knowledge (No bu y, 2014).
Despi e conside able esea ch a en ion, he p agma ic di icul ies wi h non-li e al uses in
ASC a e s ill poo ly unde s ood. In his pape , we discuss and e alua e exis ing hypo heses
ega ding he li e alism o ASC indi iduals, and link hem o accoun s o p agma ic de elop-
men in neu o ypical child en. While he e appea s o be a de elopmen al s age a which neu o-
ypical child en also ha e a endency o li e al in e p e a ions (Asch & Ne lo e, 1960; Falkum,
Recasens & Cla k, 2017; Köde & Falkum, 2020; Le o a o & Caccia i, 2002; Ne lich, Cla ke &
Todd, 1999; Winne , 1988/1997), we know o no s udies ha ha e explici ly in es iga ed
whe he ASC indi iduals' p agma ic di icul ies could be linked o he same sou ce as hose ha
neu o ypical child en expe ience a a ce ain s age in p agma ic de elopmen . We discuss a pos-
sible explana ion o he endency o li e al in e p e a ions in neu o ypical child en, one ha
links i o o he beha iou al, ule- ollowing, pa e ns ypical o he p e-p ima y and ea ly p i-
ma y school age. Finally, conside ing ex an e idence ha shows ha s ic adhe ence o ules
is also a widesp ead ea u e in ASC, we sugges ha li e alism migh be linked o such ule-
ollowing beha iou .
1
Vulchano a e al. (2012) is a case s udy abou EV, a Bulga ian woman wi h ou s anding language lea ning skills. They
an a numbe o es s on he L1 and L2 compe ence and compa ed i o a con ol g oup: Among o he hings, she sco ed
much lowe han con ols on idiom comp ehension and he inco ec esponses con ained “li e al
in e p e a ions”(p. 20).
2
Besides he empi ical e idence we will discuss, he e is ample e idence ha au is ic people exhibi a li e alis bias in
hei daily li es (A. C. Wilson & Bishop, 2021). See also: h ps://au ismguide.co.uk/ i ing-in o- he-wo ld/being-au is ic-
aspe ge s-synd ome-and-unde s anding-idioms-o -common-ph ases/.
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The pape is s uc u ed as ollows. In Sec ion 2, we discuss how he di e en cogni i e
impai men s unde lying exis ing hypo heses may impac on he li e alis p e e ence obse ed in
ASC, how hey ela e o one ano he , and how exis ing explana ions a e all unsa is ac o y in
one (speci ic) way o ano he . We also poin ou ha hey canno explain a di e en se o da a,
which we in oduce in Sec ion 3, namely, ha in he neu o ypical de elopmen , child en aged
h ee o ou seem o be less li e alis han child en aged i e o six. In Sec ion 4, we in oduce
ou own hypo hesis, which is ha such p e e ence o li e alis in e p e a ions is an exp ession
o a b oade con en ionalis a i ude, p obably de i ed om he di icul ies ha ASC people
expe ience when ying o unde s and he social wo ld in gene al. While i is s ill possible ha
he li e alism o ASC people has a di e en o igin han he li e alism o 5-yea -old neu-
o ypicals, i is dubious ha hei li e alism is ela ed o ac o s ha canno explain he non-
li e alism o 3-yea -olds and he obse ed di e ence be ween 3-yea -olds and 5-yea -olds.
2|LITERALISM AND ITS EXPLANATIONS
Wha does i mean o be a “li e alis ”? Mos , i no all, wo ds ha e se e al di e en meanings, and
he e is no eason o pick up one o hem as he li e al meaning. So, in a i s pass, we will ake i
ha someone is a li e alis i he o she has a s ong endency owa ds unde s anding wo ds and
u e ances as exp essing one o hei con en ional meanings ins ead o some no el, ad hoc, mean-
ing. Acco ding o his app oach, a li e alis pe son should no necessa ily ha e p oblems unde -
s anding con en ionalized me apho s o me onymies, gi en ha hese can be s o ed in he lexicon
in hesamewayaso dina y“li e al”meanings. Howe e , o a li e alis , acqui ing he meaning o
a con en ional me apho o me onym should also be mo e cos ly han usual, and we should see a
de ici in hei comp ehension and p oduc ion o con en ional me apho s and me onymies. Com-
p ehension and p oduc ion o con en ional idioma ic exp essions should also be a ec ed: A li e al-
is will ypically p ocess an idioma ic exp ession composi ionally and may no e en ealise ha he
exp ession has o ha e ano he meaning. A non-li e alis who hea s an idioma ic exp ession o
he i s ime is likely o be awa e ha i does no mean wha i composi ionally means, e en i
hey do no unde s and wha he exp ession means. In con as , a li e alis may no e en conside
ha he nonsensical combina ion o wo ds has o ha e ano he sense.
2.1 |Execu i e dys unc ion
As said abo e, he e a e se e al hypo heses as o why ASC indi iduals a e, o e all, mo e li e al-
is han hei neu o ypical pee s. One hypo hesis ela es li e alism o execu i e dys unc ion
(Hill, 2004). Execu i e unc ion e e s b oadly o a se o cogni i e abili ies ha a e necessa y
o he cogni i e con ol o beha iou , including inhibi ion, men al lexibili y and wo king
memo y (Diamond, 2013). Indi idually, a de ici in each o hese abili ies could, in p inciple,
lead o a endency o li e al in e p e a ions o igu a i ely used exp essions. An impai men in
inhibi o y con ol could make i di icul o supp ess p eponde an li e al meanings, poo men-
al lexibili y could make swi ching om one meaning (li e al) o ano he ( igu a i e) di icul ,
and a sca ci y o wo king memo y capaci y could make i di icul o simul aneously p ocess an
exp ession's li e al and igu a i e meaning.
I is a ma e o deba e whe he execu i e unc ion is globally impai ed ac oss he spec um
(F iedman & S e ling, 2019; Johns on, Mu ay, Spain, Walke & Russell, 2019) o whe he i is
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a co e de ici in au ism (Deme iou e al., 2018). ASC indi iduals may pe o m di e en ly on
pa icula sub- asks in ol ing execu i e unc ion. Fo ins ance, on he S oop ask
(S oop, 1935), a classic es o inhibi o y con ol whe e subjec s ha e o inhibi a p eponde an
beha iou (e.g., he esponse p imed by he colou o a colou wo d), some s udies ha e shown
ha ASC child en and adolescen s a e unimpai ed (Ozono & Jensen, 1999; Russell, Ja old &
Hood, 1999), while o he s ind gene al pa e ns o de ici s in inhibi o y con ol (H. M. Geu s,
an den Be gh & Ruzzano, 2014). Se e al s udies ha e shown impai men s in cogni i e lexibili y
in ASC, mo e speci ically on ask-swi ching using he Wisconsin ca d so ing es (WCST)
(Land y & Al-Taie, 2016; Willcu , Sonuga-Ba ke, Nigg & Se gean , 2008), and lowe sco es on
measu es o wo king memo y (Bouche , Mayes & Bigham, 2012; Ke cooda, G sko icb,
Bandac & Begesked, 2014). In a me a- e iew, howe e , F iedman and S e ling (2019) show ha
many ASC indi iduals pe o m as well as neu o ypicals on each o hese cons uc s (bu , see
Deme iou e al., 2018). This does no show ha execu i e dys unc ion may no be esponsible
o li e alism in he ASC popula ion, as he e migh be a co ela ion be ween execu i e dys unc-
ion and li e alism (i.e., pe sons on he spec um who ha e execu i e dys unc ion also ha e
p oblems in e p e ing language non-li e ally). I he e exis s such a co ela ion, his could, as
we men ioned abo e, be o a ious easons: lack o inhibi ion o he li e al meaning; in lexibil-
i y in swi ching om one in e p e a ion o ano he ; o di icul ies wi h ha ing wo di e en pos-
sible meanings in wo king memo y.
An assump ion unde lying his amily o explana ions is ha li e al meanings o wo ds a e
always ac i a ed. Howe e , as Glucksbe g (2008) claims: “Li e al meanings do no ha e uncon-
di ional p io i y, and so hey a e no necessa ily easie o compu e han nonli e al meanings”
(see also D. Wilson & Ca s on, 2007). Fo ins ance, some models o me apho p ocessing ha e i
ha me apho ical meanings a e accessed di ec ly, wi hou p io analysis o he comple e li e al
meaning (Gibbs, 1994,2002). O he models g an ha ele an ea u es o he li e al meaning
a e ac i a ed and hen supp essed (Rubio-Fe n
andez, 2007), bu supp ession o ea u es does
no ha e o be he same as inhibi ion o a compe ing meaning. Supp ession o ea u es is also
in ol ed in unde s anding complex nominal exp essions such as s one lion (Hogeweg, 2012)
and ake gun (Del Pinal, 2015), p ocesses ha ha e been shown o be less cos ly han o
ins ance, homonymy esolu ion (e.g., bank,pupil), whe e i seems necessa y o inhibi a p e-
ponde an meaning o ge o he in ended, subo dina e meaning (F isson, 2009). Tha is, i is
possible ha inhibi ion is no in ol ed in ypical non-li e al meaning p ocessing a e all.
The same kind o easoning cas s ini ial doub on he wo king memo y hypo hesis. ASC
indi iduals ha e been shown o ha e educed wo king memo y capaci y (WM) (Habib, Ha is,
Pollick & Mel ille, 2019). Acco ding o his iew, he obse ed li e alism could be a esul o
poo WM: I is no ha ASC indi iduals canno inhibi a pa icula piece o in o ma ion
(a li e al meaning), bu ha hey ha e di icul ies ha ing wo di e en pieces o in o ma ion in
WM a he same ime. So he ques ion abou li e alism could ul ima ely be a ques ion o being
unable o hold wo di e en in e p e a ions o one wo d in WM, one li e al and one non-li e al,
un il one o hem is selec ed. Howe e , once again we do no eally know whe he e ie ing a
non-li e al meaning in ol es accessing a li e al meaning i s and holding i in WM un il i is
disca ded. Homonymy esolu ion seems o wo k like his (Swinney, 1979). Typically, he mos
equen meaning is accessed while con ex also ac i a es an al e na i e meaning; hen he e is
compe i ion be ween bo h meanings, and he dominan meaning decays (o is inhibi ed). In his
case, i may well be ha bo h meanings a e empo a ily held in WM, and so ha a poo WM
capaci y may gi e ise o p oblems wi h homonymy esolu ion. Howe e , as we ha e discussed
abo e, comp ehension o non-li e al uses such as me apho s, me onymies, hype boles and o he
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kinds o depa u es om con en ional meaning does no necessa ily wo k like his, ha is,
he e may no be compe i ion be ween he li e al and he igu a i e meaning. Mo eo e , he e i-
dence conce ning homonymy esolu ion in ASC does no sugges ha indi iduals on he spec-
um a e unable o e ie e a subo dina e meaning o a homonym (Hahn, Snedeke &
Rabaglia i, 2015). One s udy, howe e , ound ha ASC indi iduals ha e di icul ies disambigu-
a ing homog aphs in a eading ask (L
opez & Leekam, 2003): Subjec s chose he dominan p o-
nuncia ion e en when he con ex made clea ha such p onuncia ion was no adequa e ( ea
in ea on he ace; dominan s. ea in he clo hes; subo dina e). Howe e , i is unclea whe he
hese esul s conce ning p onuncia ion disambigua ion ca y o e o meaning disambigua ion.
I homonymy esolu ion is no se iously comp omised in ASC indi iduals, he sugges ion is ha
he di icul ies conce ning li e alism a e no ela ed o inhibi ion o WM, bo h o which seem o
be in ol ed in homonymy esolu ion. Howe e , cau ion is ad ised: Gi en he he e ogenei y o
he spec um, e idence conce ning homonymy esolu ion would bea on he issue o li e alism
only i subjec s who a e able o disambigua e homonyms also show a s ong p e e ence o li -
e al in e p e a ions. We do no know o any s udy ha has compa ed homonymy esolu ion
and igu a i e meaning unde s anding in he same g oup o subjec s.
No e ha bo h he lack o inhibi ion and he WM explana ions wo k well only i i is he
case ha li e al meanings do ecei e a s ong ac i a ion in he p ocessing o non-li e al uses o
wo ds and sen ences. In he lack o inhibi ion explana ion, li e al meanings ecei e such a
s ong ac i a ion ha hey mus be inhibi ed; in he WM explana ion, li e al meanings a e
accessed and ill ou WM comple ely, gi en he assumed WM sho comings in ASC. Howe e ,
o all we know, ha may happen only i he subjec is al eady a li e alis , ha is, i li e al mean-
ings a e mo e s ongly ac i a ed han in he gene al popula ion. Someone wi h inhibi ion o
WM de ici s would lean owa ds li e al in e p e a ions in igu a i e con ex s only i such li e al
in e p e a ions ecei e an a ypical s ong ac i a ion.
The same kind o conside a ions apply o explana ions ha in ol e a de ici in cogni i e
lexibili y, a componen o execu i e unc ion in ol ed in ask swi ching. The e is in p inciple
no eason why a de ici in lexibili y unde s ood in his way should make non-li e al meanings
una ailable (again, unless one is al eady a li e alis ). Howe e , lexibili y may also ha e a
b oade , ague , meaning ela ed o he mo e gene al igidi y ha is obse ed in he beha iou
and cogni ion o ASC indi iduals. The p oposal abou why some ASC indi iduals ends o be li -
e alis s, which we will ou line in Sec ion 4, could be unde s ood as in ol ing lexibili y and
linked o igidi y abou social con en ions in gene al. Howe e , “ lexibili y”he e would jus be
a desc ip i e e m ha applies o cha ac e is ic pa e ns o beha iou obse ed in ASC.
2.2 |Theo y o mind
A second majo con ende is heo y o mind (ToM) capaci ies. Acco ding o he ToM accoun ,
ASC indi iduals end o be li e alis s because hey ha e di icul ies easoning abou o he s'
men al s a es, including in e ing wha he speake in ends o communica e by he use o
language (Ba on-Cohen e al., 1985; Ba on-Cohen, Baldwin & C owson, 1997; Happé, 1993). This
hypo hesis has i s oo s in p agma ic accoun s o linguis ic unde s anding which assume ha
he abili y o in e speake meanings is essen ially a o m o men alis ic easoning
(e.g., G ice, 1975/1989; Spe be & Wilson, 1986/1995). In a seminal s udy, Happé (1993) ounda
co ela ion be ween i s -o de heo y o mind and me apho unde s anding, and second-o de he-
o y o mind and i ony unde s anding in ASC indi iduals, suppo ing he ToM accoun o
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p agma ic di icul ies in ASC (see also Ma in & McDonald, 2004; Why e & Nelson, 2015). How-
e e , ecen esea ch has ques ioned he iew ha many o he p agma ic challenges in ASC a e
due oToMde ici s, o along imebelie ed obewidesp eadac oss hespec um(bu seeF i h,
Happé & Siddons, 1994; Ge nsbache & Ye geau, 2019, o easons o be scep ical abou his iew).
Fi s , he e a e s udies ha show ha p agma ic easoning is no uni e sally impai ed ac oss he
spec um, and ha some ASC indi iduals a e able o handle p agma ic phenomena ha a e
assumed o equi e in e ences abou he speake 's in en ions. Examples a e scala implica u es
(Che allie , Wilson, Happé & No eck, 2010;Hochs eine al.,2018), me apho (No bu y, 2005)
and e en i ony (e.g., Che allie , No eck, Happé & Wilson, 2011). O he s udies sugges ha he e
may be no o only a weak co ela ion be ween ToM measu es and non-li e al unde s anding
(e.g., No bu y, 2005). E en Happé's o iginal s udy ound ha hose ASC subjec s who passed all
ToM es s pe o med wo se han ypically de eloping adul s on ce ain ypes o s o ies in ol ing
non-li e al uses o language, so a ToM de ici is unlikely o be he whole s o y. Ye , i is s ill widely
assumed bo h ha ToM abili ies a e ec ui ed o i ony comp ehension and o he depa u es om
li e al meaning ha ou inely equi e men alis ic easoning, and ha he oo o he p oblems
ASC people expe ience wi h such depa u es is a sca ce ToM capaci y (And és-Roque a &
Ka sos, 2020). Recen ly, i has been sugges ed ha men alis ic easoning need no unde lie all
p agma ic in e encing (And és-Roque a & Ka sos, 2020; Ja y, 2013;Kissine,2016). Ja y (2013)has
a gued ha e en i we assumed ha accessing a non-li e al meaning in ol es p agma ic
in e encing (calcula ing implica u es), many implica u es do no equi e men alis ic easoning.
Fo ins ance, i you say “I'm hi s y”and you ge he esponse “The ba h oom is o e he e,”Ja y
claims ha you do no need o eason abou he speake 's in en ions in o de o de i e he
implica u e You can d ink wa e he e. The only hings you need, acco ding o Ja y, a e wo ld
knowledge and associa i e capaci y. A less ex eme posi ion is aken by And és-Roque a and
Ka sos (2020), who dis inguish be ween linguis ic and social p agma ics ( o a simila p oposal, see
B. Geu s, Kissine & an Tiel, 2019): Whe eas social p agma ics implies ep esen ing he men al
s a es o ano he pe son, linguis ic p agma ics seems o only equi e in ac linguis ic abili ies,
accompanied by enough wo ld knowledge and associa i e capaci y, as he speake 's meaning can
be accessed om an egocen ic pe spec i e. Acco ding o And és-Roque a and Ka sos (2020), lin-
guis ic p agma ics p o o ypically includes scala implica u es and indi ec eques s, while i ony is
he pa adigm case o social p agma ics.
While we do no wish o ake a s ance on his deba e ega ding he ole o ToM in p agma ic
easoning he e, we belie e ha in p inciple, igu a i e uses o language, along wi h linguis ic
p agma ics, do no equi e explici conjec u ing abou he men al s a es o he speake . Again,
one su ely has o do some men alis ic easoning (e.g., “Why does she say ha Lawye s a e
sha ks, which is ob iously alse? Wha could she be meaning?”e c.) i one al eady has a s ong
endency owa ds unde s anding hings li e ally. I one is ini ially mo e lexible abou wha
wo ds can exp ess, p ocessing a non-li e al meaning can be a much simple a ai
(e.g., Recana i, 2004; D. Wilson & Ca s on, 2007). In a much-ci ed s udy, No bu y (2005) sug-
ges s ha language abili ies, and no ToM, p edic igu a i e language abili ies. He s udy,
which compa ed child en wi h ASC (wi h o wi hou language impai men ) wi h child en wi h
de elopmen al language diso de (DLD), showed ha child en wi h language impai men , wi h
o wi hou concu en au is ic ea u es, ha e di icul ies wi h me apho unde s anding (see also
Bühle , Pe o ic & Pouscoulous, 2018). To explain his, No bu y p oposes ha in o de o unde -
s and a me apho subjec s need in ac analogical easoning (which ASC indi iduals appa en ly
ha e: Mo sanyi, S amenko i
c & Holyoak, 2019) and he wo ld knowledge equi ed o g asp he
analogy. Child en wi h language delay may lack he equi ed wo ld knowledge due o sho age
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in hei ocabula y o linguis ic inpu in gene al. Thus, di icul ies in me apho unde s anding,
acco ding o No bu y, would de i e om pu ely linguis ic issues. While he e a e se e al p ob-
lema ic aspec s o his s udy, which we will come back o in Sec ion 2.4., ToM abili ies do no
uni o mly p edic igu a i e meaning unde s anding in a ypical popula ions (see, e.g., Langdon,
Da ies & Col hea , 2002, on he ela ion be ween ToM and unde s anding o me apho
and i ony in schizoph enia). Howe e , as we ha e sugges ed, i migh be ha indi iduals
who al eady ha e a s ong li e alis bias a e o ced o s uggle wi h men alis ic easoning in
o de o unde s and igu a i e uses o wo ds. Bu again, an explana ion o his li e alis bias is
equi ed.
2.3 |Cen al cohe ence
The nex app oach asc ibes li e alism in ASC o a weakness in so-called global o cen al cohe ence
(CC), biasing owa ds local, de ail- ocused a he han global in o ma ion p ocessing, making he
in eg a ion o con ex ual in o ma ion di icul (Happé, 1999). Weak cen al cohe ence is obse ed
in pe cep ion, whe e ASC indi iduals a e epo ed o be less sensi i e o o e all ges al s and mo e
a en i e o de ails (Plais ed, Saksida, Alc
an a a & Weisbla , 2003). In language unde s anding, a
weakness in global cohe ence means ha he pe son will be less sensi i e o con ex ual elemen s.
Thus, he e will be a di icul y in he in eg a ion o con ex ual ac o s, and he pe son may go wo d
by wo d in in e p e ing a linguis ic u e ance. In p inciple, we hink his could be a plausible
accoun o he a es ed li e alism o ASC indi iduals. Howe e , ollowing (Happé & F i h, 2006),
he e a e wo, appa en ly di e en ways in which weak CC could a ec p ocessing o non-li e al
u e ances. Acco ding o he i s , weak CC implies ha subjec s ocus on ea u es and de ails
ins ead o ge ing he global gis . Acco ding o he second, weak CC implies ha subjec s ha e di i-
cul ies in p ocessing any hing ha depa s, e en sligh ly, om he hings hey a e amilia wi h.
He e hey quo e Kanne 's (1943, p. 246) o iginal obse a ion: “Asi ua ion,ape o mance,asen-
ence is no ega ded as comple e i i is no made up o exac ly he same elemen s ha we e p e-
sen a he ime he child was i s con on ed wi h i . I he sligh es ing edien is al e ed o
emo ed, he o al si ua ion is no longe he same and he e o e is no accep ed as such.”
Acco ding o his second idea, indi iduals wi h ASC may be li e alis s because hey a e ixa ed on
he li e al meanings ha “we e p esen a he ime he child was con on ed wi h [ he wo ds].”
3
Howe e , i weak CC is simply a de ici in ge ing he global gis , i is no ob ious ha someone
wi h such a condi ion should be unable o go beyond li e al meanings. Weak CC is in oked in
accoun ing o ASC child en's di icul ies using sen ence con ex o disambigua e homog aphs
(L
opez & Leekam, 2003) bu , as we ha e al eady men ioned, i is a om clea ha he p ocesses
o mechanisms unde lying unde s anding o non-li e al uses o language a e simila o hose
in ol ed in esol ing ambigui ies. In addi ion, as also men ioned, he e a e s udies o homonymy
esolu ion sugges ing ha ASC child en a e unimpai ed compa ed o TD child en (Hahn
e al., 2015). I may also be he case ha cen al cohe ence is in ol ed in unde s anding some ypes
o non-li e al uses bu no in o he s. Fo ins ance, idioma ic exp essions (Vulchano a, Saldaña,
Chahboun & Vulchano , 2015) may be ha de and may equi e a ges al in e p e a ion ha is no
equi ed in unde s anding, o ins ance, me onymy, me apho , hype bole o o he loose uses o
wo ds. In sum, we do no know how much o CC ha is equi ed in o de o each non-li e al
3
This implies ha hey migh be li e alis abou some “non-li e al”meanings as well, i hese we e he i s meanings
ha hey we e in oduced o.
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in e p e a ions. Finally, i is no clea whe he p ocessing a uni o he size o a sen ence should be
a ec ed by weak CC. Weak CC may impac he abili y o keep ack o mo e o less complex, o
simply long, na a i es, bu no necessa ily on he capaci y o unde s and a non-li e al meaning
(Ti ado & Saldaña, 2016). In his espec , he s udies by B ock, No bu y, Eina and Na ion (2008)
and Au-Yeung, Kaakinen, Li e sedge and Benson (2018) sugges ha con ex -in eg a ion in small
linguis ic uni s is unp oblema ic in au ism.
2.4 |Linguis ic–seman ic abili y
Acco ding o No bu y (2005), he eason why many people diagnosed wi h ASC end o ha e
di icul ies unde s anding me apho s is o be ound in hei poo e linguis ic abili ies compa ed
o hei ypically de eloping pee s. On his iew, di icul ies wi h me apho comp ehension a e
no exclusi e o ASC, bu common o all condi ions in which linguis ic abili ies is comp omised.
Recen ly, Bühle e al. (2018) conduc ed a s udy which hey ake o suppo No bu y's iew,
showing ha child en wi h de elopmen al language diso de also ha e p oblems unde s anding
me apho and ha hei pe o mance is no ela ed o non- e bal in elligence.
No bu y (2005) sugges s ha me apho unde s anding equi es a deg ee o seman ic knowl-
edge ha people wi h linguis ic delay o linguis ic impai men lack. Howe e , i is unclea wha
such seman ic knowledge amoun s o. I his is wo ld knowledge de i ed om sca ce linguis ic
inpu , as No bu y he sel p oposes (e.g., he wo ld knowledge equi ed o g asp an analogy o
sha ed p ope ies o di e en en i ies), he eal issue is no linguis ic, bu cogni i e-concep ual
(c . Keil, 1986). Bu i can also be a ques ion o compe ence in lexical in eg a ion ollowing com-
posi ional ules, which would be p ope ly seman ic knowledge, o ease o p ocessing, which is
mo e o a pe o mance issue. Mo eo e , as No bu y's s udy used he es o wo d knowledge
(TOWK) as a measu e o pa icipan s' linguis ic abili y/seman ic knowledge, which con ains
bo h me apho s and o he ypes o igu a i e language, he co ela ion she ound wi h me apho
unde s anding is no su p ising (Rundblad & Annaz, 2010b). In any case, a leas wi h espec
o ASC, he e idence is a om clea cu : Fo ins ance, Chahboun e al. (2017) ma ched a g oup
o ASC adul s wi h a g oup o neu o ypical adul s by linguis ic abili ies, and ound ha ASC
adul s we e slowe in a lexical decision ask in ol ing me apho s. Tha is, e en i linguis ic
impai men s may p edic di icul ies wi h non-li e al meaning unde s anding, such di icul ies
may pe sis in he absence o linguis ic impai men .
A lack o wo ld knowledge may explain why someone is unable o e ie e he sha ed p op-
e ies be ween he sou ce and he a ge in a me apho . Howe e , li e alism in he in e p e a-
ion o me onymy, ce ain ypes o implica u es o i ony has o ha e a di e en kind o
explana ion. Acco ding o some esea che s who ind No bu y's accoun compelling (And és-
Roque a & Ka sos, 2020), di icul ies wi h i ony comp ehension can be explained by ToM de i-
ci s, while di icul ies wi h scala implica u es o o he kinds o igu a i e meaning a e
ancho ed in s uc u al language p oblems (i.e., ocabula y and g amma ).
4
This kind o
app oach is unable o explain an o e all li e alis endency in subjec s who do no ha e lan-
guage impai men . Bu , beyond ha , he app oach lacks an explana ion as o how wha hey
call “s uc u al language”p oblems impac igu a i e meaning unde s anding. And e en i we
4
This kind o accoun does no add ess he issue o pa icula ised implica u es like he ones Ja y (2013) calls “ma e ial
implica u es,”which, a leas in p inciple, may no equi e men alis ic easoning. A. C. Wilson and Bishop (2021) epo
issues wi h his kind o implica u es as well.
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assume ha linguis ic p oblems p edic di icul ies wi h igu a i e meanings, i is s ill unclea
how linguis ic p oblems would ha e an impac on lexibili y in comp ehension in gene al.
Gi en ha we as ye lack an explana ion o he ela ion be ween hese wo ac o s, i canno be
excluded ha he ela ion holds in i ue o a hi d ac o . Fo ins ance, i could be ha people
who in gene al ha e p oblems comp ehending o he s end o ollow linguis ic con en ions
mo e s ic ly.
Finally, a capi al ques ion abou he ask design in No bu y (2005) is o wha ex en he kind
o dicho omous pa adigm she uses ells us much abou li e alism (i.e., he endency o in e p e
language li e ally). This ques ion also applies o o he s udies ha ake hei esul s o suppo
he s uc u al language hypo hesis (Bühle e al., 2018; No bu y, 2004). Rega dless o he ype
o assessmen chosen by he au ho s (which a ies om mul iple-choice asks o e bal explana-
ions), he p oblem lies in hei labelling answe s as ei he co ec o inco ec , wi hou u he
disc imina ion. This may obscu e li e alis pa e ns in he inco ec answe s. In No bu y's (2005)
s udy, li e alism is no e en es ed. The s udy only es s whe he subjec s can disc imina e
which candida e is he bes me apho , wi h asks such as: “The hea ing had been le on o e -
nigh and he oom was e y wa m. I was:
a. an o en
b. a blanke
c. a g ill
d. a spice
(No bu y, 2005, p. 399)
While his pa adigm es s whe he subjec s can comp ehend me apho s i lea es no oom o
es ing whe he subjec s in e p e me apho s li e ally o no .
E en s udies ha ha e a di e en design and include a li e alis op ion, such as Kasi e and
Mashal's (2014,2016) s udies on no el me apho s in ASC, o No bu y's (2004) s udy on idioms,
a e no ine-g ained enough o unco e a li e alis bias. As men ioned abo e, hese s udies only
conside “co ec ”and “inco ec ” esponses, wi hou u he explo a ion, such ha a li e alis
esponse will no be dis inguished om any o he “bad”choice. The e o e, hese s udies canno
e lec whe he au is ic subjec s exhibi a cha ac e is ic p agma ic s yle when aced wi h igu a-
i e meaning. Ra he , hey only indica e ha indi iduals who ha e language delay also ha e
di icul ies wi h igu a i e language. Se e al s udies show ha people wi h language delay ha e
p oblems unde s anding igu a i e language o idioma ic exp essions (e.g., Bühle e al., 2018).
Au is ic indi iduals wi h language delay ha e hose same p oblems (as do second language
lea ne s). Wha is no u he explo ed is whe he au is ic people (o people wi h DLD, o ha
ma e ) also exhibi a li e alis bias. Ha ing issues wi h igu a i e language is no equal o ha -
ing a li e alis bias. Tes ing o he o me does no mean ha he la e is es ed.
E en a “co ec ” esponse need no mean ha igu a i e language has been p ocessed in a
“ ypical”way. Figu a i e meanings may incu highe p ocessing cos . So, i is possible ha
au is ic people who gi e co ec esponses s ill exhibi a li e alis bias. Tha is, his kind o es -
ing lea es open he possibili y ha people wi h ASC, whe he showing language delay o no ,
may p ocess igu a i e language di e en ly han con ol popula ions.
O he expe imen al pa adigms, using eac ion imes, p iming, o eye-mo emen s, a e mo e
app op ia e i he goal is o es a li e alis bias. In gene al, es ing o online pe o mance seems
p e e able. Fo ins ance, Walenski and Lo e's (2017) p iming s udy on idiom comp ehension
ound ha bo h TD and DLD indi iduals con as wi h ASC subjec s in ha bo h TD and DLD
VICENTE AND FALKUM 127
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accommoda e excep ions. The eason why igidi y in beha iou is made mani es in he
social domain mo e han in o he s is simply because he social wo ld is much less ule-
go e ned han o he s.
The e is li le discussion as o how igidi y ace s de elop in ime. Bishop e al. (2013) epo
inc eased ci cumsc ibed in e es s wi h g ea e age, bu S ang e al. (2017) do no ind such a
ela ion. S ang e al. also men ion ha lexibili y p oblems in gene al we e less in ense in he
olde pa icipan s in hei s udy, bu hey ecommend cau ion, since, as o oday, he e a e no
da a om longi udinal s udies. In he absence o such longi udinal s udies, i is possible o spec-
ula e ha high unc ioning (HF) ASC people may become mo e lexible abou ules wi h ime,
once hey ealise ha ule- ollowing in neu o ypicals admi s many excep ions. Wi hou being
able o commi o sugges ing any di ec ela ionship, i seems ha he same p ocess o conscious
ealisa ion may d i e imp o emen s in wo king ou non-li e al uses o language in he cou se
o HF au is ic indi iduals de elopmen (who can a ain a be e unde s anding o igu a i e lan-
guage, bu no as good as TD adul s: Chahboun e al., 2016,2017). In bo h cases, ASC indi id-
uals may emain igid and li e alis s a he deepes le el, while succeeding a mee ing he
challenges o he ypicals' wo ld.
5|CONCLUDING REMARKS
We sugges ha ASC indi iduals' ixa ion wi h li e al meanings is pa and pa cel o his gen-
e al ixa ion wi h ules in he social ealm. The a ionale behind his explana ion o li e al-
ism in ASC is: (i) wo ds ha e con en ional meanings, bu hey a e also used non-
con en ionally by speake s, such ha unde s anding wha speake s mean in ol es being able
o no ollow/be lexible abou a con en ional ule; (ii) he e is some e idence showing ha
when subjec s a e mo e li e alis , hey a e also mo e igid abou con en ions in gene al;
(iii) many ASC people a e igid conce ning social ules ( he e being a ious easons ha
could explain i ), so i is o be expec ed ha hey a e also igid conce ning ules abou wha
wo ds mean. In his sec ion, we ha e ied o suppo s ep (iii) o he a gumen by iden i y-
ing a beha iou al ai common o many ASC indi iduals ha is no o en discussed: s ic
adhe ence o ules. This kind o ule ollowing in lexibili y also seems o be p esen in TD
child en o a ce ain age, who also display less lexibili y conce ning meaning in e p e a ion
(Sec ion 2). The e is eason o belie e ha bo h kinds o beha iou s a e ela ed, as in he e -
ain o meaning in e p e a ion he e a e also con en ions as well as excep ions o such con-
en ions. So, gi en ha we hink ha mos accoun s o li e alism in ASC a e uncon incing
and ha we ind in ASC people a ai ha is plausibly ela ed o he li e alism we ind in
ypical de elopmen , ou sugges ion is ha li e alism in ASC may be ela ed o hei o e all
being s ic e abou ules. We hope ha his may open up a new di ec ion o empi ical
esea ch in o he sou ces o ASC indi iduals' di icul ies in his impo an domain o social
cogni ion and communica ion.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like o hank Elena Cas o iejo, Isabel Ma ín-Gonzalez, Valen ina Pe olini and wo
anonymous e iewe s o hei e y help ul commen s and sugges ions. This pape is pa o a p o-
jec ha has ecei ed unding om he Eu opean Resea ch Council (ERC) unde he Eu opean
Union's Ho izon 2020 esea ch and inno a ion p og amme (G an ag eemen No. 853211).
Funding o his esea ch was also suppo ed by Agencia Es a al de In es igaci
on, Spain g an
134 VICENTE AND FALKUM
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numbe : PGC2018-093464-B-I00; by he Basque Go e nmen , g an numbe : IT1396-19; and by
he Uni e si y o he Basque Coun y (UPV/EHU), g an numbe s: GIU18/221 and US20/03.
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
Da a sha ing is no applicable o his a icle as no new da a we e c ea ed o analysed in his
s udy.
ORCID
Agus ín Vicen e h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0002-5331-5546
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