What Is Mindblindness?

Simon Baron-Cohen is a researcher from the University of Cambridge who has done significant work in the field of theory of mind. The majority of his work has centered on children with ASD. Baron-Cohen (1995) uses the term mindblindness to explain why individuals with ASD have an impaired ability to read minds. Most typically developing youngsters develop mind reading skills easily and without any formal instruction. The skills are automatic as the brain is programmed to interpret this information from birth. Baron-Cohen postulates that a specific part of the brain that is typically responsible for mind reading is impaired in children with ASD. This impairment likely has a genetic basis, and several regions of the brain have been suggested as connected to this impairment.

Powers (2003) interprets mindblindness as “an inability to put oneself in the place of another and to see things from another person's perspective” (p. 11-12). He adds that developing a theory of mind “enables the child to perceive reality from another's perspective … to feel empathy, to identify with another's feelings and point of view, and to understand that others don't know everything that the child knows. It also makes it possible for the child to understand pretense, sarcasm, deceit, and certain kinds of humor” (p. 11-12).

Those who don't have the ability to apply theory of mind or who have an impaired ability to mind read must use other means to explain behavior in themselves and others. Unfortunately these other ways are often slow and/or wrong, leading to drastic consequences in some instances.

Example:
A student named Johnny is walking down the street. He sees a group of four older boys on the other side of the street. They are staring at Johnny, pointing as well as talking to each other. After a few moments the boys begin to cross the street towards Johnny.

Now, many people would have turned and gone in the other direction before the four thugs crossed the street and possibly hurt them. But it would take some mind reading ability to infer that since the boys were talking and looking at you that they might want to do something to you. Otherwise Johnny could just interpret the goings-on as a description: Four boys are walking down the street. They are looking at me. They are pointing at me. They are crossing the street and getting closer to me—without interpreting the possible intent of the four boys.