Simon Baron-Cohen
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2008-06-13T11:51:22Z
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/* Personal life */
{{Infobox Scientist
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|name = Simon Baron-Cohen
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|residence = [[England]]
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|nationality = [[United Kingdom|British]]
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|field = [[Psychologist]]
|work_institutions = [[University of Cambridge]]
|alma_mater = [[New College, Oxford]]<br/>[[University College London]]<br/>[[King's College London]]
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|known_for = [[Autism|Autism research]]
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'''Simon Baron-Cohen''' is a professor of [[developmental psychopathology]] in the departments of [[psychiatry]] and [[experimental psychology]], a Fellow of [[Trinity College, Cambridge]], and director of the Autism Research Centre at the [[University of Cambridge]], in the [[United Kingdom]].<ref> [http://www.autismresearchcentre.com/arc/staff_member.asp?id=33 ARC people: Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, Director.] Autism Research Centre. Retrieved on [[2008-02-16]].</ref> He is best known for his work on [[autism]], including his early theory that autism involves degrees of [[Mind-blindness|'mindblindness']] (or delays in the development of [[Theory of mind impairment in autism|theory of mind]]), and his later theory that autism is an extreme form of the 'male brain', which involved a reconceptualization of typical psychological sex differences in terms of [[EQ SQ theory|empathy and systemizing]].
==Education==
Baron-Cohen earned degrees in [[Human Sciences]] from [[New College, Oxford]], a PhD in [[Psychology]] from [[University College London]], and an [[Master of Philosophy]] in Clinical Psychology at the [[Institute of Psychiatry]], [[King's College London]].
==Research areas==
Baron-Cohen published "Does the autistic child have a 'theory of mind'?" in 1985 with [[autism]] researchers [[Uta Frith]] and [[Alan Leslie]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Baron-Cohen S, Leslie AM, Frith U|title=Does the autistic child have a 'theory of mind'? |journal=Cognition |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=37–46 |year=1985 |doi=10.1016/0010-0277(85)90022-8 |pmid=2934210 |url=http://ruccs.rutgers.edu/~aleslie/Baron-Cohen%20Leslie%20&%20Frith%201985.pdf |format = PDF | accessdate=2008-02-16}}</ref> It proposed that children with autism show social and communication difficulties as a result of a delay in the development of a [[Theory of mind#Autism|theory of mind]].
In his 1995 book ''Mindblindness'' (MIT Press), he suggested that an individual's theory of mind depends on a set of brain mechanisms that develop in early childhood, including the eye direction detector (EDD), the shared attention mechanism (SAM), and the intentionality detector (ID). Baron-Cohen singled out SAM as a key precursor to [[theory of mind]], giving rise to the Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (CHAT).<ref>[http://depts.washington.edu/dataproj/chat.html CHAT - The Checklist for Autism In Toddlers.] University of Washington. Retrieved on [[2008-02-16]].</ref>
Baron-Cohen's theory, outlined in his 2003 book ''The Essential Difference'' (Penguin/Basic Books), attempted to link the fields of typical sex differences in psychology with the field of autism. He proposed that on average, [[EQ SQ Theory|females develop faster in empathy and on average males develop faster in systemizing.]] People with autism, he argued, show an extreme of the typical male profile in having a disability in empathy alongside intact or even superior systemizing.
In his 2005 book ''Prenatal Testosterone in Mind'' (MIT Press), Baron-Cohen demonstrated that foetal [[testosterone]] (FT) levels (measured in the amniotic fluid) inversely predict social behaviour (e.g., eye contact at 12 months), language development (e.g., vocabulary size at 24 months), quality of social relationships at 4 years, and empathy at 8 years. FT levels also positively predict systemizing at 8 years. A single biological mechanism (FT) thus appears to influence both empathy and systemizing, in opposite ways. He is testing if autism is associated with elevated FT.
In addition to basic research into the biomedical causes of autism, Baron-Cohen and his colleagues have produced practical tools for people with autism, including ''Mind Reading: An Interactive Guide to Human Emotions'',<ref>[http://www.jkp.com/mindreading Mind Reading.] Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Retrieved on [[2008-02-16]].</ref> which is educational software for helping to improve emotion-recognition skills. More recently, he created ''The Transporters'',<ref>[http://www.transporters.tv Home page.] The Transporters. Retrieved on [[2008-02-16]].</ref> a children's animation series. The series superimposed real human faces showing emotions onto animated vehicles, as a way of harnessing the strong interest in systems (vehicles being an example of a system) that even preschoolers with autism show, to help make faces and emotional expressions more autism-friendly and predictable.
Baron-Cohen is also recognized as being one of the leading researchers in England and the world{{Fact|date=June 2008}} in [[synesthesia]], a neurological disorder involving the "crossing" of sensory wiring in the mind.
==Personal life==
Simon Baron-Cohen's son is the independent film maker [[Sam Baron]]. His brother is film director [[Ash (director)|Ash Baron Cohen]], and his first [[cousin]]s are [[Erran Baron Cohen]], composer and musician, and [[Sacha Baron Cohen]],<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0056187/bio Biography for Sacha Baron Cohen.] IMDb. Retrieved on [[2008-02-16]].</ref> the actor and comedian famous for his characters [[Borat]] and [[Ali G]]. His maternal grandfather's brother was [[Robert Greenblatt]], professor of endocrinology at the [[Medical College of Georgia]], whose research led to the development of the oral contraceptive pill.<ref>Mahesh, Virenda B. [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1224 Robert B. Greenblatt (1906-1987).] The New Georgia Encyclopedia, [[2006-02-10]]. Retrieved on [[2008-02-16]].</ref>
In April 2008 he was a guest on ''[[Private Passions]]'', the biographical music discussion programme hosted by [[Michael Berkeley]] on [[BBC Radio 3]].<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/privatepassions/ Radio 3: "Private Passions"].</ref>
==Selected publications==
===Books===
Simon Baron-Cohen has written five books, including ''Mindblindness'' (1995) and ''The Essential Difference: Male and Female Brains and the Truth About Autism'' (2003). He has edited three books, including ''Understanding Other Minds'' (1993), with a second edition in 2001. Baron-Cohen has also studied [[synesthesia|synaesthesia]], and has edited a book on it: ''Synaesthesia: Classic and contemporary readings'' (1997).
===Papers===
* {{cite journal |author=Golan O, Baron-Cohen S |title=Systemizing empathy: teaching adults with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism to recognize complex emotions using interactive multimedia |journal=Dev. Psychopathol. |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=591–617 |year=2006 |pmid=16600069 |doi=10.1017/S0954579406060305}}
* {{cite journal |author=el Kaliouby R, Picard R, Baron-Cohen S |title=Affective computing and autism |journal=Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. |volume=1093 |issue= |pages=228–48 |year=2006 |pmid=17312261 |doi=10.1196/annals.1382.016}}
* {{cite journal |author=Baron-Cohen S, Wheelwright S |title=The empathy quotient: an investigation of adults with Asperger syndrome or high functioning autism, and normal sex differences |journal=J Autism Dev Disord |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=163–75 |year=2004 |pmid=15162935 |doi=10.1023/B:JADD.0000022607.19833.00}}
* {{cite journal |author=Baron-Cohen S |title=The extreme male brain theory of autism |journal=Trends Cogn Sci |volume=6 |issue=6 |pages=248–254 |year=2002 |pmid=12039606 |doi=10.1016/S1364-6613(02)01904-6}}
==See also==
* [[Autism Spectrum Quotient]]
* [[Sally-Anne test]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4649492-111414,00.html They just can't help it], Simon Baron-Cohen, [[The Guardian]] ([[April 17]] [[2003]])
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/08/opinion/08baron-cohen.html?ex=1281153600&en=497fba7d39bb5396&ei=5090&partner=rs The Male Condition], Simon Baron-Cohen, [[The New York Times]] Op-Ed Section, ([[August 8]], [[2005]])
* [http://edge.org/3rd_culture/baron-cohen05/baron-cohen05_index.html The Assortative Mating Theory: A Talk with Simon Baron-Cohen], [[Edge Foundation]] discussion, [[2005]]
* [http://www.eqsq.com EQSQ.com: How Does Your Mind Work] - Brain-function psychological tests developed by Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, Sally Wheelwright, and their team.
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[[Category:Academics of the University of Cambridge]]
[[Category:Autism researchers]]
[[Category:Biology of gender]]
[[Category:British psychologists]]
[[Category:Developmental psychologists]]
[[Category:English Jews]]
[[Category:Alumni of New College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Alumni of University College London]]
[[Category:Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Living people]]
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