The Essential Difference

The Truth About the Male and Female Brain

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by Simon Baron-Cohen

Perseus Books

Due/Published June 2003, 256 pages, cloth

ISBN 0738208442

Underlying the subtle differences in the psychology of men and women, Baron-Cohen believes, there is one essential difference, and it affects everything we do: Men have a tendency to analyze and construct systems while women are inclined to empathize. With fresh evidence for these claims, Baron-Cohen explores how these sex differences arise more from biological than cultural causes and shows us how each brain type contributes in various ways to what we think of as "intelligence." Emphasizing that not all men have the typically "male" brain, which he calls Type "S," and not all women have the typically female brain (Type "E"), Baron-Cohen explores the new research that illuminates our individual differences and explains why a truly "balanced" brain is so rare. Filled with illuminating case studies, many from Baron-Cohen's own clinical practice, The Essential Difference moves beyond the stereotypes to elucidate over twenty years of groundbreaking research. Baron-Cohen discusses each brain type and even presents a new theory that autism (as well as its close relative, Asperger's syndrome) can be understood as an extreme form of the male brain.