?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=The+Empathy+Imbalance+Hypothesis+of+Autism%3A+A+Theoretical+Approach+to+Cognitive+and+Emotional+Empathy+in+Autistic+Development&rft.creator=Smith%2C+A&rft.subject=Developmental+Psychology&rft.subject=Evolutionary+Psychology&rft.description=There+has+been+a+widely+held+belief+that+people+with+autism+spectrum+disorders+lack+empathy.+This+article+examines+the+empathy+imbalance+hypothesis+(EIH)+of+autism.+According+to+this+account%2C+people+with+autism+have+a+deficit+of+cognitive+empathy+but+a+surfeit+of+emotional+empathy.+The+behavioral+characteristics+of+autism+might+be+generated+by+this+imbalance+and+a+susceptibility+to+empathic+overarousal.+The+EIH+builds+on+the+theory+of+mind+account+and+provides+an+alternative+to+the+extreme-male-brain+theory+of+autism.+Empathy+surfeit+is+a+recurrent+theme+in+autistic+narratives%2C+and+empirical+evidence+for+the+EIH+is+growing.+A+modification+of+the+pictorial+emotional+Stroop+paradigm+could+facilitate+an+experimental+test+of+the+EIH.&rft.date=2009&rft.type=Journal+(Paginated)&rft.type=PeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F6799%2F1%2FTPRVol59No3-SMITH.pdf&rft.identifier=++Smith%2C+A++(2009)+The+Empathy+Imbalance+Hypothesis+of+Autism%3A+A+Theoretical+Approach+to+Cognitive+and+Emotional+Empathy+in+Autistic+Development.++%5BJournal+(Paginated)%5D+++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F6799%2F