Blog Post: Monotropism - A Theory of Autistic Cognition
Autistic people are neurodivergent, which means that we have a brain that is considerably different from most human brains. Attention and its friend, interest, work differently depending on the type of brain one has. Therefore, as a product of our neurodivergence, how we attend to things and engage in our interests is unique. Monotropism theory describes the specifics of how our attention works differently and how this can explain the core features of autism. So, what exactly is monotropism? How does the theory explain autistic minds and behaviour? Answers coming your way.
What is Monotropism?
Monotropism is a relatively new theory introduced by Dinah Murray, Mike Lesser, and Wenn Lawson in 2005. According to the theory, monotropic minds tend to have their attention drawn towards a smaller number of interests at any given time. These interests attract a large amount of the person’s cognitive resources. By cognitive resources, I mean our attention, focus, and other similar functions. Naturally, this leaves a monotropic mind with fewer cognitive resources for whatever lies outside of these interests.
Monotropism can be contrasted with polytropism. People with polytropic minds more easily attend to a number of activities, pieces of information, or issues at a given point in time. However, less mental energy is devoted to each. Therefore, the interests that polytropic minds attend to are inevitably explored in less depth and with little sense of preoccupation.
Most people have polytropic minds. Autistic people, according to the theory, differ: We have a distinctly monotropic mindset.
This means that it is easier for autistic people to process one channel of information at a time. Distributing our attention across multiple things takes effort and might feel unnatural. In their original research article, Murray, Lesser, and Lawson explain that this cognitive disposition underlies the core features of autism. I will review only a few here: our sensory differences, social differences, and focused interests.
Sensory differences
Monotropism is characterised by intense focus on relatively few things with less mental resources available to deal with ‘outside input’. By outside input, I mean anything that attempts to pull our attention away from the object/subject of our focus. Outside input can therefore be experienced as intrusive if it captures our attention and we are unable to tune it out.
As an example, imagine this: You are a passionate writer drawn towards drafting your novel. Words are flowing as you enter a focused state. Then, a pigeon flies onto the tree outside your window. “Coo-coo-coo” goes the pigeon, over and over again. Your attention is torn away from your novel and towards the pigeon. This is involuntary; you cannot find a way to block out the intrusive bird call. It’s distressing to have your attention so focused on something that you don’t even want to be attending to at all.
That is how monotropism might explain autistic people’s tendency to experience “sensory sensitivities” and associated overwhelm. It is a combination of: (1) the discomfort of our attention being drawn away from where we want it to be, and (2) a tendency to experience something intensely when it enters our awareness.
Social differences
Social situations are more cognitively complex than they seem. There are multiple channels of information to attend to including words, tone, gestures, facial expressions, body positioning, eye contact, perceived social norms, and context. No wonder the back-and-forth, multi-dimensional nature of neurotypical conversation is difficult for monotropic minds that prefer to focus deeply on few things.
Monotropic processing also explains our tendency for literal-mindedness. A monotropic mind might expect one thing to follow from another directly, whereas polytropic minds are constantly pulling in multiple strands of information. Non-autistic people are therefore primed to attend to and decode indirect language (e.g., metaphors, implied jokes). Whereas, autistic people might experience the literal meaning of words springing to mind first and then have to consciously shift towards interpreting the metaphorical or implied intent. We can get there eventually, but it may take some processing time.
Taken altogether, our monotropic minds might lead us to miss things that other people seamlessly register during social situations. However, whatever HAS captured our attention, we are attending to deeply. I tend towards focusing on facial expressions and body language over spoken words. I might miss the verbal content and contextual undertones of what people are speaking about sometimes, but I am picking up on a whole lot more depth in people’s movements and faces than a polytropic mind is.
Focused interests
Autistic interests tend to be more deep, passionate, and accompanied by sustained focus and/or motivation, compared to the interests of non-autistic people. This is the manifestation of a monotropic mindset that prefers to (and indeed thrives upon) focusing on the details of a few topics.
I’ll use my interests in philosophy and psychology as an example. I see most things in life through a philosophical lens. I sometimes struggle to imagine that other people don’t care for reflective philosophical questions or for analysing minds. In my ideal world, every conversation I have would be a vulnerable deep-dive into our existences. I feel it is important, necessary even, to live aligned with philosophical values and pursue a career that centres these interests.
Compare this to an imaginary person - let’s call them Sam - who is not autistic and has a polytropic mind. Sam has a strong interest in philosophy and psychology too. How they see the world and their direction in life is coloured a little by their philosophical and psychological knowledge, but also determined by social influences, cultural expectations, and other interests of theirs. Sam’s polytropic mind is therefore spreading attention across a number of different things, with less focus and passion for individual interests.
Implications of Monotropism
Monotropism is a useful theory to keep in mind to better understand autistic cognition and behaviour. There are important implications that stem from the theory about how to support autistic people.
How to support yourself, or someone you know, as an autistic person (through the lens of monotropism):
1. Allow the autistic person to take on tasks, demands, or pieces of information one at a time.
2. Create an environment in which the autistic person can focus deeply on what they’re doing with minimal distractions.
3. Provide opportunities for the autistic person to develop their areas of interest as this can increase motivation, wellbeing, and other positive outcomes.
4. Learn about an autistic person’s interests as a way to become part of their ‘attention tunnel’ and connect with them. If you’re autistic yourself, discussing your interests with someone who shares your passion is a means to find belonging and connection.
Final note: Monotropism is a new theory, and as such, research to substantiate it is in its infancy. Despite being in its early stages, it seems to provide a holistic and thoughtful account of autism that moves away from the pathologising language of previous theories.
If you like what I’m sharing, you can kindly support me by ‘buying me a coffee’.
References
Grove, Roth, & Hoekstra. (2015). The motivation for special interests in individuals with autism and controls: Development and validation of the special interest motivation scale. Autism Research, 9, 677–688.
Kristie & Williams. (2017). Characterization and utilization of preferred interests: A survey of adults on the autism spectrum. Occupational Therapy in Mental Health, 33(2), 129-140.
Lawson. (2011). The passionate mind: How individuals with autism learn. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Murray, Lesser, & Lawson. (2005). Attention, monotropism and the diagnostic criteria for autism. Autism, 9(2), 139–156.
Murray. (2008). Me and Monotropism: A unified theory of autism. British Psychological Society.
Wood, Hallet, & Lawson. (2019). Inclusive education for autistic children: Helping children and young people to learn and flourish in the classroom. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
