Provide a 7 pages analysis while answering the following question: Autism in Context: Central Coherence Theory and Theory of Mind. Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide. An abstract is required. Since rising to popularity in the past years, the cognitive model has helped in a considerable understanding of autism. The autism condition is not only characterized by deficits in social behavior but also a deficit in cognitive control. Most of the autistic children are impaired in at least one cognitive function. Social symptoms and Cognitive symptoms may sometimes overlap or have a relation (Mitchell, 1992). Some researches have suggested that the autism condition is a combination of several cognitive disorders (Richardson, 2012).
The central coherence theory of autism asserts that the symptoms observed in the autism condition are as a result of a cognition style called “weak central coherence.” This is a limited ability to grasp or understand contexts within which events happen. As a result, autistic individuals view or take things literally, like not being understanding with regard to sarcasm or metaphors (Smith-Michaels, 2008). Computational models use the weak central coherence principles to account for poor context processing and poor generalization observed in the autism condition. Central coherence appears to be a separate entity in autistic cognition. In contrast, it is probably not related to autism behavioral symptoms. The central coherence theory may not be related to the severity of symptoms or social competence. Thus, it could be an autism consequence rather than being a cause (Richardson, 2012).
According to Bogdashina (2005), the Theory of mind is about the inference of what the other people are thinking, such that one can predict other people’s behavior. It was initially proposed that individuals with autism conditions do not possess this social cognition trait. It is not possible for them to tell what the other people are thinking, that is the reason they fail to respond to voice tones or facial expressions. The absence of the theory of mind accounts for the main component of autism condition.
