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The theory of mind hypothesis of autism: A critical evaluation of the status quo.

Emily L Long et al.

Psychological Review2025https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000532article
AJG 4ABDC A*
Weight
0.63

Abstract

The theory of mind (ToM) hypothesis of autism is the idea that difficulties inferring the mental states of others may explain social communication difficulties in autism. In the present article, we critically evaluate existing theoretical accounts, concluding that none provides a sufficient explanation of ToM in autism. We then evaluate existing tests of ToM, identifying problems that limit the validity of the conclusions that may be drawn from them. Finally, as an example of how the identified issues may be resolved, we describe work developing a psychological account of ToM (the Mind-space framework) and a new test of ToM accuracy (the Interview Task). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000532

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@article{emily2025,
  title        = {{The theory of mind hypothesis of autism: A critical evaluation of the status quo.}},
  author       = {Emily L Long et al.},
  journal      = {Psychological Review},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000532},
}

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The theory of mind hypothesis of autism: A critical evaluation of the status quo.

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Evidence weight

0.63

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.66 × 0.4 = 0.26
M · momentum0.93 × 0.15 = 0.14
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.