2025/04/10 by Uta Frith, Chris Frith · 1 voice · 1 citation
Health Professions · Neuroscience · Psychology · #Autism Spectrum Disorder Research #Child and Animal Learning Development #Community Health and Development
paper · doi:10.1177/09637214241311922
openalex publication_date 2025/04/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Autism has influenced social-cognitive neuroscience in important ways. It has provided the impetus to look for the brain basis of mentalizing and encouraged the search for the brain bases of other social abilities. A fundamental aspect of social interaction is the ability to predict what other agents are going to do. We propose a hierarchy of three worlds—the world of objects, the world of agents, and the world of ideas—that respectively present their own challenges and solutions to such predictions. The world of ideas provides a direct interface between individual minds and other minds (i.e., culture). We highlight the power of culture to change subjective experiences and the power of subjective experiences to influence culture. The example of autism shows these mutual influences at work. These influences have led to dramatic changes in the concept of “autism” since its first use in child psychiatry.