UCL Working Papers in Linguistics 15 (2003)
Dissociation of social affect and
theory of mind in a case of Asperger syndrome
NEIL SMITH, BEATE HERMELIN &
IANTHI TSIMPLI
We report on a case of Asperger
syndrome (KH), who has considerable linguistic ability with a verbal IQ of 153.
Strikingly, he readily and correctly identifies the use of sarcasm, showing
mastery of the meta-representation and dissociation characteristic of ‘interpretive
use’. Current theories of the syndrome largely agree on the constellation
of properties which define it, but disagree on whether the basic cause resides
in a deficit in Theory of Mind or in a social and emotional deficit. We suggest
an account in a ‘quasi-modular’ version of the modularity
hypothesis, as developed by Smith and Tsimpli. We
specify a range of quasi-modules (including Theory of Mind and Social
Interaction, itself divided into Social Cognition and Social Affect); we
outline the structure of the Emotional component, including basic and derived
emotions; and we then spell out some of their inter-connections and their relation
to the Language Faculty. Our tentative conclusion is that all these components
may dissociate, and that high intelligence, combined with linguistic ability,
may mask a deficit in Theory of Mind, though not in Social Affect.
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