Empathizing and systemizing in males, females, and autism: a test of the neural competition theory

Sex differences exist in empathizing (females showing a stronger drive than males), and this contrasts with sex differences in systemizing (males showing a stronger drive). Systemizing occurs when one analyses or constructs a system according to rules that govern that system. In this chapter we re-analyse data from the Empathy Quotient (EQ) and Systemizing Quotient (SQ) to test if empathy and systemizing “compete” in the brain. We conclude that they do, because there is no difference between the sexes in the measure of C (combined scores). This suggests that females’ relatively high empathizing score compensates for their less developed systemizing score, and conversely males’ high systemizing score compensates for their less well-developed empathizing score. Whilst many psychiatric conditions entail an impairment in empathy, autism and Asperger Syndrome (AS) may be specific in entailing an impairment in empathy alongside a heightened drive to systemizing, controlling for IQ and sex. This difference-score (between EQ and SQ) is tested for its power to classify individuals with AS. Finally, we propose a classification of 5 different ‘brain types’ based on such difference scores, which broadly correspond to the maleand female-typical brain, the extremes of these, and a final brain type which is ‘balanced’ (no difference between EQ and SQ). Future research should test the neural basis of these 5 cognitively-defined brain types in order to understand their developmental and anatomical characteristics further.