Flexible cognition, perceived conflict, and self-monitoring in autism spectrum condition

Abstract

Social adaptation often requires balancing interpersonal conflict with flexible responses to others’ expectations and self-monitoring. However, the mechanisms linking these processes remain unclear. This preliminary study aimed to examine whether perceived interpersonal conflict during moral–empathic judgments was associated with cognitive flexibility (CF) and self-monitoring–guided behavior (SMB) in individuals with autism spectrum condition (ASC) and typical development (TD). Pilot data from 22 adults with ASC and 30 with TD were analyzed with regression and moderated mediation models. The TD group showed higher levels of CF, perceived conflict, SMB, and perspective-taking, whereas the ASC group reported higher personal distress. The regression model predicting SMB was statistically significant ( p < 0.01); SMB increased with greater CF, decreased with greater perceived conflict, and was lower in the ASC group. An exploratory moderated mediation analysis suggested that perceived conflict mediated the relationship between CF and SMB, with conditional indirect effects varying across diagnostic groups. These findings suggest that conflict appraisal during social judgment may relate differently to flexible cognition and self-monitoring across groups.