mindblindness an essay on autism and theory of mind pdf

Mindblindness : An Essay on Autism and Theory of Mind

Simon Baron-Cohen, Professor in Developmental Psychopathology and Director of the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge, is the author of Mindblindness (MIT Press, 1997) and The Essential Difference: The Truth about the Male and Female Mind .

In Mindblindness , Simon Baron-Cohen presents a model of the evolution and development of "mindreading." He argues that we mindread all the time, effortlessly, automatically, and mostly unconsciously. It is the natural way in which we interpret, predict, and participate in social behavior and communication. We ascribe mental states to people: states such as thoughts, desires, knowledge, and intentions.

Building on many years of research, Baron-Cohen concludes that children with autism, suffer from "mindblindness" as a result of a selective impairment in mindreading. For these children, the world is essentially devoid of mental things.

Baron-Cohen develops a theory that draws on data from comparative psychology, from developmental, and from neuropsychology. He argues that specific neurocognitive mechanisms have evolved that allow us to mindread, to make sense of actions, to interpret gazes as meaningful, and to decode "the language of the eyes."

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Mindblindness : An Essay on Autism and Theory of Mind By: Simon Baron-Cohen https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/4635.001.0001 ISBN (electronic): 9780262267731 Publisher: The MIT Press Published: 1995

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Table of Contents

• Series Foreword Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/4635.003.0001 Open the PDF Link PDF for Series Foreword in another window
• Foreword Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/4635.003.0002 Open the PDF Link PDF for Foreword in another window
• Preface Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/4635.003.0003 Open the PDF Link PDF for Preface in another window
• Acknowledgements Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/4635.003.0004 Open the PDF Link PDF for Acknowledgements in another window
• On the Term "Mindblindness" Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/4635.003.0005 Open the PDF Link PDF for On the Term "Mindblindness" in another window
• Chapter 1: Mindblindness and Mindreading Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/4635.003.0006 Open the PDF Link PDF for Chapter 1: Mindblindness and Mindreading in another window
• Chapter 2: Evolutionary Psychology and Social Chess Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/4635.003.0007 Open the PDF Link PDF for Chapter 2: Evolutionary Psychology and Social Chess in another window
• Chapter 3: Mindreading: Nature's Choice Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/4635.003.0008 Open the PDF Link PDF for Chapter 3: Mindreading: Nature's Choice in another window
• Chapter 4: Developing Mindreading: The Four Steps Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/4635.003.0009 Open the PDF Link PDF for Chapter 4: Developing Mindreading: The Four Steps in another window
• Chapter 5: Autism and Mindblindness Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/4635.003.0010 Open the PDF Link PDF for Chapter 5: Autism and Mindblindness in another window
• Chapter 6: How Brains Read Minds Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/4635.003.0011 Open the PDF Link PDF for Chapter 6: How Brains Read Minds in another window
• Chapter 7: The Language of the Eyes Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/4635.003.0012 Open the PDF Link PDF for Chapter 7: The Language of the Eyes in another window
• Chapter 8: Mindreading: Back to the Future Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/4635.003.0013 Open the PDF Link PDF for Chapter 8: Mindreading: Back to the Future in another window
• Notes Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/4635.003.0014 Open the PDF Link PDF for Notes in another window
• References Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/4635.003.0015 Open the PDF Link PDF for References in another window
• Index Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/4635.003.0016 Open the PDF Link PDF for Index in another window
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Mindblindness: An Essay on Autism and Theory of Mind

1999, J Psychophysiol

Page 1. MINDBLINDNESS AN ESSAY ON AUTISM AND THEORY OF MIND " •A//*' Simon Baron-Cohen foreword by Leda Cosmides and John Toob) Page 2. Page 3. Page 4. Page ...

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The impairment of the autistic relative to the unimpaired would be that the autistic isn't able to maintain activity at the conceptual level long enough to become accustomed to the terrain, to bring things into clear focus. The terrain of intuitive thought has as its landmarks emotions and ideas, and also the interpretation of perceptions like pain and touch. The autistic only gets brief glimpses at the conceptual world before being cycled back into the simple sensory stratum, whereas normals are able to remain in the rarified environment of conceptual thought for a longer time between downward cycles of distraction. The autistic experiences feelings and ideas whenever he pops his head above the perceptual cloud, but can't sustain himself there long enough to embellish the delicate strands of incipient feeling which greet him in order to categorize and identify them intellectually, nor does he have the luxury most of us take for granted of quickly communicating the partially formed ideas and impressionistic observations which make small talk and casual socializing possible, because without the ability that normal memory gives to strengthen and expand those ideas enough for them to withstand the distracting task of communicating them, they will fade and be forgotten in a fog.

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Mindblindness : an essay on autism and "theory of mind"

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• Mindblindness and mindreading
• evolutionary psychology and social chess
• mindreading - nature's choice
• developing mindreading - the four steps
• autism and mindblindness
• how brains read minds
• the language of the eyes
• mindreading - back to the future.
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Mindblindness

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“Mindblindness” is a term coined by autism researcher Simon Baron-Cohen ( 1990 ). It also is the title of the essay containing work from his doctoral dissertation (Baron-Cohen, 1997 ). In that essay, Baron-Cohen theorized that humans have evolved to be able to “mindread” or to effortlessly, automatically, and unconsciously assess the behavior of others. This is critical because mindreading forms the basis of the ability to successfully engage in social interactions requiring the minute-by-minute interpretation and prediction of the behavior of one’s interaction partners. Baron-Cohen goes on to propose that persons with autism have a selective impairment in mindreading.

The concept of mindblindness is rooted in the fields of both evolutionary biology and cognitive science. It is Baron-Cohen’s contention that natural selection favored species and individuals from those species with greater social intelligence which included mindreading abilities. Mindreading abilities enabled...

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References and Readings

Baron-Cohen, S. (1990). Autism: A specific cognitive disorder of “mind-blindness.”. International Review of Psychiatry, 2 , 79–88.

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Baron-Cohen, S. (1997). Mindblindness: An essay on autism and theory of mind . Cambridge: MIT Press.

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Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute, 2825 50th St, Sacramento, CA, 95817-2310, USA

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Correspondence to Marjorie Solomon .

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Irving B. Harris Professor of Child Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Psychology Yale University School of Medicine, Chief, Child Psychiatry Children's Hospital at Yale-New Haven Child Study Center, New Haven, CT, USA

Fred R. Volkmar ( Director, Child Study Center ) ( Director, Child Study Center )

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Solomon, M. (2013). Mindblindness. In: Volkmar, F.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1698-3_529

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