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Concept
Empathising–systemising theory
Summary
The empathising–systemising (E–S) theory is a theory on the psychological basis of autism and male–female neurological differences originally put forward by English clinical psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen. It classifies individuals based on abilities in empathic thinking (E) and systematic thinking (S). It measures skills using an Empathy Quotient (EQ) and Systemising Quotient (SQ) and attempts to explain the social and communication symptoms in autism spectrum disorders as deficits and delays in empathy combined with intact or superior systemising.
According to Baron-Cohen, the E–S theory has been tested using the Empathy Quotient (EQ) and Systemising Quotient (SQ), developed by him and colleagues, and generates five different 'brain types' depending on the presence or absence of discrepancies between their scores on E or S. E–S profiles show that the profile E>S is more common in females than in males, and the profile S>E is more common in males than in females. Baron-Cohen and associates assert that E–S theory is a better predictor than gender of who chooses STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). The E–S theory has been extended into the extreme male brain (EMB) theory of autism and Asperger syndrome, which are associated in the E–S theory with below-average empathy and average or above-average systemising.
Baron-Cohen's studies and theory have been questioned on multiple grounds. The overrepresentation of engineers could depend on a socioeconomic status rather than E-S differences.
Mind-blindness
E–S theory was developed by psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen in 2002, as a reconceptualization of cognitive sex differences in the general population. This was done in an effort to understand why the cognitive difficulties in autism appeared to lie in domains in which he says on average females outperformed males, along with why cognitive strengths in autism appeared to lie in domains in which on average males outperformed females.
Official source
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