Mindblindness: An Essay on Autism and Theory of Mind

In Mindblindness, Simon Baron-Cohen presents a model of theevolution 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, andparticipate in social behavior and communication. We ascribe mental states to people: states such asthoughts, desires, knowledge, and intentions.

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

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

A Bradford Book.

Learning, Development, and Conceptual Change series