The hyper-systemizing, assortative mating theory of autism.

Area of Science:

• Neurodevelopmental disorders
• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) research
• Cognitive psychology

Background:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by social-communication challenges and restricted, repetitive behaviors.
• The extreme male brain theory posits that autism represents an extreme of typical male cognitive profile.
• Systemizing, the drive to understand and build systems, is a key cognitive trait.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and elaborate on the hyper-systemizing theory of autism.
• To extend the extreme male brain theory by focusing on systemizing mechanisms.
• To review evidence supporting a genetic basis for autism through assortative mating.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical proposal and synthesis of existing research.
• Review of empirical evidence related to systemizing in autism.
• Examination of genetic and mating patterns in autistic populations.

Main Results:

• The hyper-systemizing theory posits that individuals with autism have an overactive systemizing mechanism.
• This heightened systemizing leads to a preference for lawful systems and difficulty with high-variance systems, like the social world.
• Evidence suggests assortative mating between high systemizers may contribute to the genetic inheritance of autism.

Conclusions:

• The hyper-systemizing theory offers a novel framework for understanding autism's cognitive profile.
• This theory provides a potential explanation for the 'change-resistant' behavior observed in autism.
• Assortative mating among high systemizers is presented as a plausible genetic mechanism in autism etiology.