Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders

2013 Edition
| Editors: Fred R. Volkmar

Weak Central Coherence

Reference work entry
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1698-3_1744
How to cite

Definition

The term “central coherence” refers to the “neurotypical” (NT, i.e., non-autistic) tendency to pull information together and process information in context, looking for the “big picture” and drawing out meaning, often at the expense of details. By contrast, “weak central coherence” refers to the tendency in ASD to attend to and remember details rather than global form or meaning.

Historical Background

The term “central coherence” was coined by Uta Frith in her influential 1989 book “Autism: Explaining the Enigma.” This drive for coherence, in Frith’s words, “pulls together large amounts of information” like the tributaries of a river, and “without this type of high-level cohesion, pieces of information would just remain pieces, be they small pieces or large pieces” (p. 97). She hypothesized that the drive for coherence was weaker in people with ASD and suggested that this would make them betterthan neurotypicals (NTs) at some tasks. Together with Amita Shah, she...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

References and Readings

  1. Belmonte, M. K., Allen, G., Beckel-Mitchener, A., Boulanger, L. M., Carper, R. A., & Webb, S. J. (2004). Autism and abnormal development of brain connectivity. The Journal of Neuroscience, 24, 9228–9231.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  2. Booth, R., Charlton, R., Hughes., C., & HappÕ, F. (2003). Disentangling weak coherence and executive dysfunction: Planning drawing in Autism and ADHD. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (Special Issue: ‘Autism: Mind and Brain’), 358(1430), 387–392.Google Scholar
  3. Booth, R. D. L., & Happé, F. (2010). “Hunting with a knife and... fork”: Examining central coherence in autism, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and typical development with a linguistic task. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 107, 377–393.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  4. Frith, U. (1989). Autism: Explaining the enigma. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
  5. Gerland, G. (1997). A real person: Life on the outside. (English Trans. J. Tate). London: Souvenir Press.Google Scholar
  6. Happé, F. G. E. (1997). Central coherence and theory of mind in autism: Reading homographs in context. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 15, 1–12.Google Scholar
  7. Happé, F. G. E., & Booth, R. D. L. (2008). The power of the positive: Revisiting weak coherence in autism spectrum disorders. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 61, 50–63.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  8. Happé, F., Booth, R., Charlton, R., & Hughes, C. (2006). Executive function deficits in Autism Spectrum Disorders and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Examining profiles across domains and ages. Brain and Cognition, 61, 25–39.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  9. Happé, F., Briskman, J., & Frith, U. (2001). Exploring the cognitive phenotype of autism: Weak “central coherence” in parents and siblings of children with autism I. Experimental tests. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 42, 299–307.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  10. Happé, F., & Frith, U. (2006). The weak coherence account: Detail-focused cognitive style in autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36, 5–25.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  11. Happé, F., & Frith, U. (Eds.). (2010). Autism and talent. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
  12. Happé, F., & Vital, P. (2009). What aspects of autism predispose to talent? Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society-Series B, 364, 1369–1375.Google Scholar
  13. Kanner, L. (1943). Autistic disturbances of affective contact. Nervous Child, 2, 217–250.Google Scholar
  14. Kanner, L. (1951). The conception of wholes and parts in early infantile autism. American Journal of Psychiatry, 108, 23–26.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  15. Lopez, C., Tchanturia, K., Stahl, D., Booth, R., Holliday, J., & Treasure, J. (2008). An examination of the concept of central coherence in women with anorexia nervosa. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 41, 143–152.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  16. Mottron, L., Dawson, M., Soulieres, I., Hubert, B., & Burack, J. (2006). Enhanced perceptual functioning in autism: An update and eight principles of autistic perception. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36, 27–43.PubMedGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College LondonLondonUK