LaCroix, Travis (2026) Autism and the Pseudoscience of Mind. [Preprint]

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Abstract

The theory-of-mind-deficit explanation of autism proposes that autistics lack a theory of mind, that autism comprises a theory-of-mind deficit (strong version); or, that autistics often have difficulty with theory-of-mind abilities (weak version). A growing body of critical research demonstrates how these explanations of autistic behaviour fail—both empirically and theoretically. The strong version lacks explanatory adequacy, while the weak version is undermined by methodological and empirical flaws in theory-of-mind research. Together, these issues suggest that the "science" of theory of mind in the context of autism is, at best, bad science. Nonetheless, researchers continue to pursue this line of inquiry in autism studies—often moving the goalposts or offering ad hoc rationalisations to preserve the theoretical framework. This article critically examines the theory-of-mind-deficit explanation of autism, focusing particularly on the widely-held view that autistics exhibit difficulties with theory of mind—i.e., the weak version of the theory-of-mind-deficit explanation. Drawing from the philosophy of science, I argue that ongoing adherence to this view exhibits all the hallmarks of a degenerating research programme. Hence, the fact that scientists have not abandoned this hypothesis entails that the research programme is pseudoscientific.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID LaCroix, Travis travis.lacroix@durham.ac.uk 0000-0002-1724-3434
Additional Information:	This article has been accepted for publication in Psychological Inquiry. It will appear alongside eight commentaries ((1) Simon Baron-Cohen, Marcin A. Radecki, Carrie Allison, Alex Tsompanidis, David M. Greenberg, Varun Warrier, Meng-Chuan Lai, Michael V. Lombardo, Simone Shamay-Tsoory, Florina Uzefovsky, Rebecca Saxe, Helen Tager-Flusberg, Ami Klin, Alan M. Leslie, Sarah J. White, and Uta Frith; (2) Patrick Dwyer; (3) Morton Ann Gernsbacher (4) Joe Gough; (5) Johan Lundin Kleberg; (6) Joanna Karolina Malinowska, Valentina Petrolini, and Davide Serpico; (7) Isabelle F. Morris and Philip David Zelazo; and, (8) Sahana V. Rajan), and an official response to the commentaries (T. LaCroix. 2026. "Autism, Theory of Mind, and the Dynamics of Value-Laden Research Programmes") This article is part of the research project, "Philosophy on the Spectrum: The Philosophy of Autism and Autistic Philosophy", which is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Please cite published version when available.
Keywords:	Autism, Theory of Mind, Cognitive Explanations, Pseudoscience, Demarcation, Philosophy of Science, Methodological Falsification, Lakatos, Neurodiversity, Double Empathy, Monotropism, Philosophy of Autism, Autistic Philosophy, Philosophy on the Spectrum
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Psychology General Issues > Science and Society General Issues > Science and Policy General Issues > Science vs. Pseudoscience General Issues > Theory/Observation General Issues > Values In Science
Depositing User:	Dr. Travis LaCroix
Date Deposited:	26 Jan 2026 18:14
Last Modified:	26 Jan 2026 18:14
Item ID:	28013
Official URL:	https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2025.2605590
DOI or Unique Handle:	10.1080/1047840X.2025.2605590
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Psychology General Issues > Science and Society General Issues > Science and Policy General Issues > Science vs. Pseudoscience General Issues > Theory/Observation General Issues > Values In Science
Date:	26 January 2026
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/28013

Available Versions of this Item

• Autism and the Pseudoscience of Mind. (deposited 06 Dec 2023 02:48)
  • Autism and the Pseudoscience of Mind. (deposited 26 Jan 2026 18:14) [Currently Displayed]

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