The theory of mind deficit in autism: How specific is it?*

Abstract:

Abnormalities in the social and communicative development of children with autism have recently been related to an impairment in their ability to attribute mental states to others, that is, in the development of their ‘theory of mind’. The present paper investigates if this deficit is specific to understanding mental states, or if it extends to domains of social cognition in autism which do not involve a theory of mind. This is tested in three areas: (1) relationship recognition, (2) interpersonal reciprocity, and (3) understanding the animate‐inanimate distinction. Results from experiments in these three areas show that subjects with autism are unimpaired in all three domains, relative to non‐autistic mentally handicapped or normal control groups. This suggests that the deficits in their theory of mind may well be highly specific.