Theory of Mind (ToM) or Social Cognition

Theory of mind (ToM), also called social cognition, is our capacity to understand others by ascribing them “mental states” that may be different from ours — and imagine why. ToM is an essential social-cognitive function (or perspective-taking,) for success in everyday human social interaction and is a critical component of empathy. Since there’s no way to know, our beliefs are theories (not predictions) that we base on what they say, how they act, what is known about their personalities, and what can be inferred about their intentions. In the past, psychiatry believed neurodivergent (ND) people, particularly autistic people, struggle with ToM. This led to significant, harmful mis-readings of ND communication. ND people routinely score more poorly on social cognition tests that are created by NT scientists with an NT focus. It is now more (but not universally) recognized that ND people, by definition, have a different system of brain wiring that processes information differently from how an NT brain works. As often as ND people “misread” NT social cues, so too do NT people misunderstand ND social cues. Also see the Double Empathy Problem Theory