The systemizing versus empathizing breakdown of the general population is the most compelling way to think about autistic traits. Empathy splits into a learnable cognitive part and an affective part, and failure of empathy does not explain borderline conditions.
What it is
The most compelling theory of autism, though not a politically correct one to favor, is the breakdown of the general population into systemizing, empathizing and autistic traits.
“But the one I like the most, and again, not exactly a politically correct hypothesis to like the most for autism, but I think the most compelling one is the systematizing versus empathizing versus autistic traits breakdown of the general population”
40:32Autism Diagnosis Explained: DSM-5 Criteria, Autistic Traits & the Difficult DifferentialSep 2026 Empathizing splits usefully in two. Cognitive empathy is intellectually understanding what someone else is feeling or wanting, and it is learnable. Affective empathy is the other half.
“There's a very useful split we can make in empathizing, one being cognitive empathy and And one being affective empathy. We might be able to intellectually understand what someone else is feeling or wanting. That's cognitive empathy. That's learnable”
43:19Autism Diagnosis Explained: DSM-5 Criteria, Autistic Traits & the Difficult DifferentialSep 2026
In autism
People with clinically identifiable autism spectrum disorder show more systemizing than even the average general-population male, whether or not they are male themselves.
“Also, you will see in the clinically identifiable autism spectrum disorder population, Those patients will have more systemizing than even the general population male, whether or not they are male or female themselves. What else should we know”
44:51Autism Diagnosis Explained: DSM-5 Criteria, Autistic Traits & the Difficult DifferentialSep 2026
In borderline conditions
The idea that borderline, antisocial or narcissistic conditions are a failure of empathy is not well supported. Empathizing has been studied in people diagnosable with borderline personality disorder.
“I was curious about whether neurodevelopment could explain what we today consider borderline conditions, BPD, even antisocial or narcissistic. What if it's a failure of empathy? Well, not a well-supported hypothesis. They've looked at empathizing. Systems in people diagnosable with borderline personality disorder”
49:12Autism Diagnosis Explained: DSM-5 Criteria, Autistic Traits & the Difficult DifferentialSep 2026 People with borderline personality disorder are better at empathizing with negative reactions and at detecting interpersonal threat and disapproval. Being so good at that ruins their ability to read other mind states accurately.
“they're better at empathizing negative reactions. They're better at detecting interpersonal threat. Okay. And disapproval. But because they're so good at that, that also it ruins their ability to detect accurately other mind states”
52:14Autism Diagnosis Explained: DSM-5 Criteria, Autistic Traits & the Difficult DifferentialSep 2026
It also comes up on
- AutismAutism spectrum disorder is high systemizing and low empathizing, plus a collection of associated problems (repetition, emotional regulation problems, some learning problems) downstream of genetics and neurobiology, at a level that makes it a disorder rather than traits.
- AutismPsychopaths have the opposite profile: strong cognitive empathy and poor affective empathy. Autistic people appear to have some internal affective reaction to others.
- PsychopathyPsychopaths have the opposite profile to autism: strong cognitive empathy and bad affective empathy.
From these episodes
Every point above is something said on the Psychofarm podcast, with the words as spoken and a link to the moment in the episode. It is education, not medical advice, and an episode reflects what we thought when we recorded it.