Simon Baron-Cohen

Trastorno límite de la personalidad. Psicopatía. Narcisismo. Autismo y el síndrome de Asperger. Las personas que presentan estas enfermedades tienen algo en común: la falta de empatía. En algunos casos, esto puede dar lugar a situaciones peligrosas (recuerdese la tragedia del Instituto Colombine), pero en otros tan solo significa una forma diferente de interpretar el mundo (como Kim Peek, inspirador de la pelicula "Rainman")."Los crimenes espeluznantes nos hielan la sangre y nos dejan un deseo de venganza. Simon Baron-Cohen nos lleva mas alla de esas deficiencias mentales. En este libro, proponiendo una nueva forma de reflexion sobre las personas malvadas y la empatia, asienta el fundamento cientifico para una futura y brillante ciencia para comprender la cara oscura de la condicion humana."Michael Gazzaniga, Profesor de Psicologia en la University of California, Santa Barbara

Men and women: what really makes us different? Why do women love to chat while men prefer games, gadgets and alphabetizing their CDs? Why can a woman tell when you're lying? And what is it about men and lists . . . ? We all know the opposite sex can be a baffling species, but we've never had the facts to tell us why - until now. Here leading psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen reveals: Male and female minds are different Why female brains are better at empathizing How male brains are designed to analyse 'systems' (from maps to music) The groundbreaking theory that autism is a form of the extreme male brain And, now to test yourself and find out what kind of brain you have Forget Mars and Venus . . . and discover the truth.

Que hombres y mujeres piensan y se comportan de forma distinta es algo evidente y sobre lo que ya se ha dicho y escrito mucho. Ir al origen de esa diferencia es un paso más allá y este libro posee el merito y la audacia de hacerlo de una forma brillante y fresca, rigurosa y definitiva. En el Simon Baron-Cohen, uno de los investigadores en psicologia mas brillantes de su generacion, nos ofrece las claves para comprender la raiz de esta cuestion: la diferencia real y esencial entre los cerebros masculino y femenino y los que se derivan. La tesis de su autor da luz y pone sobre la mesa lo que es ante todo una evidencia cientifica, y su dimension romped ora y controvertida se ve respaldada por años de investigaciones y experiencias. Le invitamos a iniciar este singular viaje en el que, a traves de interesantes casos de estudio, el autor logra diseccionar cada tipo de cerebro. Entender el origen cerebral de nuestras diferencias nos ayudara, no solamente a comprender mejor a nuestra pareja y mejorar nuestra relacion, sino tambien a resolver uno de los enigmas cientificos mas fascinantes y desconocidos. Simon Baron-Cohen es profesor en la Universidad de Cambridge de psicologia y psiquiatria. Tambien es director del Centro de Investigacion del Autismo. Lleva mas de veinte años realizando estudios sobre el autismo y las diferencias entre los sexos.

Las dificultades que experimentan los niños que padecen autismo, para comprender los pensamientos, las creencias, los deseos y las intenciones de los demás están bien documentadas en numerosos estudios. Actualmente, se ha visto que estos deficit subyacen en muchos de los problemas sociales y de comunicacion caracteristicos del autismo.

Esta exposición sobre el autismo se dirige fundamentalmente a padres de niños con dicho trastorno, explicando con claridad las causas del mismo, los procedimientos de diagnóstico, las características de los niños con autismo y los tipos de terapia que se emplean. Ademas, el texto incorpora una guia de recursos con direcciones, asociaciones de investigacion, de padres, etc., y una bibliografia basica sobre el tema.

A groundbreaking argument about the link between autism and ingenuity. Why can humans alone invent? In The Pattern Seekers, Cambridge University psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen makes a case that autism is as crucial to our creative and cultural history as the mastery of fire. Indeed, Baron-Cohen argues that autistic people have played a key role in human progress for seventy thousand years, from the first tools to the digital revolution. How? Because the same genes that cause autism enable the pattern seeking that is essential to our speciess inventiveness. However, these abilities exact a great cost on autistic people, including social and often medical challenges, so Baron-Cohen calls on us to support and celebrate autistic people in both their disabilities and their triumphs. Ultimately, The Pattern Seekers isnt just a new theory of human civilization, but a call to consider anew how society treats those who think differently.

We all appreciate that there are differences in the typical psychology of men and women. Yet underlying these subtle differences, Simon Baron-Cohen believes, there is one essential difference, and it affects everything we do: Men have a tendency to analyze and construct systems while women are inclined to empathize. With fresh evidence for these claims, Baron-Cohen explores how these sex differences arise more from biological than cultural causes and shows us how each brain type contributes in various ways to what we think of as "intelligence." Emphasizing that not all men have the typically "male" brain, which he calls Type "S," and not all women have the typically female brain (Type "E"), Baron-Cohen explores the cutting-edge research that illuminates our individual differences and explains why a truly "balanced" brain is so rare. Filled with surprising and illuminating case studies, many from Baron-Cohens own clinical practice, The Essential Difference moves beyond the stereotypes to elucidate over twenty years of groundbreaking research. From gossip to aggression, Baron-Cohen dissects each brain type and even presents a new theory that autism (as well as its close relative, Aspergers syndrome) can be understood as an extreme form of the male brain. Smart and engaging, this is the thinking persons guide to gender difference, a book that promises to change the conversation about-and between-men and women.

Celebrates human cognitive diversity, and is rich with empathy and psychological insight Steven Pinker Bold, intriguing, profound Jay Elwes, Spectator Why can humans alone invent? In this book, psychologist and world renowned autism expert Simon Baron-Cohen puts forward a bold new theory: because we can identify patterns, specifically if-and-then patterns. Baron-Cohen argues that the genes for this unique ability overlap with the genes for autism and have driven human progress for 70,000 years. From the first musical instruments to the agricultural, industrial, and digital revolutions, Pattern Seekers links one of our greatest human strengths with a condition that is so often misunderstood and challenges us to think differently about those who think differently.

In Zero Degrees of Empathy: A New Theory of Human Cruelty and Kindness Simon Baron-Cohen takes fascinating and challenging new look at what exactly makes our behaviour uniquely human. How can we ever explain human cruelty? We have always struggled to understand why some people behave in the most evil way imaginable, while others are completely self-sacrificing. Is it possible that - rather than thinking in terms of good and evil - all of us instead lie somewhere on the empathy spectrum, and our position on that spectrum can be affected by both genes and our environments? From the Nazi concentration camps of World War Two to the playgrounds of today, Simon Baron-Cohen examines empathy, cruelty and understanding in a groundbreaking study of what it means to be human.Fascinating ... dazzling ... a full-scale assault on what we think it is to be humanSunday TelegraphHighly readable ... this is a valuable book Charlotte Moore, SpectatorImportant ... humane and immensely sympathetic Richard Holloway, Literary Review

The Essential Difference shows that, on average, male and female minds are of a slightly different character. Men tend to be better at analysing systems (better systemisers), while women tend to be better at reading the emotions of other people (better empathisers).

An award-winning psychologist draws on years of research to unveil a simple but persuasive hypothesis for a new way to think about evil (New York Times). How can we explain both cruelty and kindness? To award-winning psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen, the explanation for cruelty is low levels of empathy, and the explanation for kindness is high levels of empathy. In The Science of Evil, Baron-Cohen draws on decades of research to develop a new, brain-based theory of human cruelty and kindness. He explores the social and biological factors that can influence our empathy levels, explains the key distinction between cognitive and affective forms of empathy, and shows how low empathy can lead to dehumanizing behavior. Updated with a new introduction by the author, The Science of Evil will continue to challenge our understanding of human cruelty.

Simon Baron-Cohen resume en este nuevo libro el estado actual de los estudios sobre autismo y síndrome de Asperger. Explica cómo se obtiene un diagnóstico y describe las opciones pedagógicas existentes para mejorar la situacion de los afectados por estos trastornos. El autor adopta un enfoque a largo plazo, estudiando a personas desde la mas temprana infancia hasta la edad adulta. Nos ofrece asimismo un esquema de su nueva Teoria de la empatia-sistematizacion (ES) con la que intenta explicar todos y cada uno de los rasgos psicologicos delespectro autista. Este libro esta pensado, sobre todo, para laspersonas que padecen los sintomas del autismo y sus familias. Pero puede resultar igualmente util para medicos clinicos, docentes y otrotipo de profesionales involucrados en el cuidado y apoyo a quienes padecen autismo. Es, asimismo, una muy valiosa introduccion al temapara estudiantes de ciencias sociales y biologicas.Simon Baron-Cohen resume en este nuevo libro el estado actual de los estudios sobre autismo y síndrome de Asperger. Explica cómo se obtiene un diagnóstico y describe las opciones pedagógicas existentes para mejorar la situacion de los afectados por estos trastornos. El autor adopta un enfoque a largo plazo, estudiando a personas desde la mas temprana infancia hasta la edad adu...