Dame Uta Frith (''née'' Aurnhammer; born 25 May 1941) is a German-British
developmental psychologist
Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult development ...
at the
Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
. She has pioneered much of the current research into
autism
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
and
dyslexia
Dyslexia, also known until the 1960s as word blindness, is a disorder characterized by reading below the expected level for one's age. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, r ...
. She has written several books on these subjects, arguing for autism to be seen as a mental condition rather than as one caused by parenting.
Her ''
Autism: Explaining the Enigma'' introduces the
cognitive neuroscience
Cognitive neuroscience is the scientific field that is concerned with the study of the biological processes and aspects that underlie cognition, with a specific focus on the neural connections in the brain which are involved in mental process ...
of autism. She is credited with creating the
Sally–Anne test along with fellow scientists
Alan Leslie and
Simon Baron-Cohen
Sir Simon Philip Baron-Cohen (born 15 August 1958) is a British clinical psychologist and professor of developmental psychopathology at the University of Cambridge. He is the director of the university's Autism Research Centre and a Fellow of ...
.
She also pioneered the work on child dyslexia.
Among students she has mentored are
Tony Attwood,
Maggie Snowling,
Simon Baron-Cohen
Sir Simon Philip Baron-Cohen (born 15 August 1958) is a British clinical psychologist and professor of developmental psychopathology at the University of Cambridge. He is the director of the university's Autism Research Centre and a Fellow of ...
and
Francesca Happé.
Education
Frith was born Uta Aurnhammer in
Rockenhausen, a small village in the hills between
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
and
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...
in Germany. She attended the
Saarland University in
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) across the Saar river) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is ...
with her initial plan for her education in art history, but changed to experimental psychology after learning of its empirical nature.
She was inspired by the work of many psychologists and psychoanalysts, such as Hans Eysenck, and decided to train in
clinical psychology
Clinical psychology is an integration of social science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and persona ...
at the
Institute of Psychiatry in London.
While at the Institute she worked closely with
Jack Rachman.
She went on to complete her Doctor of Philosophy, on pattern detection in
neurotypical
Neurotypical (NT, an abbreviation of neurologically typical) is a neologism widely used in the neurodiversity movement as a label for non-neurodivergent people. That is, anyone who has a typical neurotype, so excluding autism, autistic people, t ...
and
autistic
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
children, in 1968.
She was mentored, during her early career, by
Neil O'Connor
Neil O'Connor (March 23, 1917 – October 1, 1997) was an experimental psychologist, born in Geraldton, Western Australia. He died in 1997 after a traffic incident.
Education
He studied Philosophy and Experimental Psychology in Oxford and serve ...
and Beate Hermelin
Beate Marianne E Hermelin, (''née'' Fliess; 7 August 1919 – 14 January 2007), affectionately known as Ati, was a German-born experimental psychologist, who worked in the UK and was a pioneer in the experimental study of autism. Her numerous sc ...
and has described them as pioneers in the field of autism
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
.
Research
Frith's research paved the way for a theory of mind
In psychology, theory of mind refers to the capacity to understand other people by ascribing mental states to them (that is, surmising what is happening in their mind). This includes the knowledge that others' mental states may be different fro ...
deficit in autism.[.] While she was a member of the Cognitive Development Unit (CDU) in London, in 1985 she published with Alan M. Leslie and Simon Baron-Cohen
Sir Simon Philip Baron-Cohen (born 15 August 1958) is a British clinical psychologist and professor of developmental psychopathology at the University of Cambridge. He is the director of the university's Autism Research Centre and a Fellow of ...
the article ''Does the autistic child have a "theory of mind"?'', which proposed that people with autism have specific difficulties understanding other people's beliefs
A belief is an attitude that something is the case, or that some proposition is true. In epistemology, philosophers use the term "belief" to refer to attitudes about the world which can be either true or false. To believe something is to take i ...
and desires. Frith, along with Alan Leslie and Simon Baron-Cohen, created two theories of autism. The first is "lack of implicit mentalization" – lack of the ability to know ones own mental state. The second is "weak central coherence", by which she suggested that individuals with autism are better than typical at processing details, but worse at integrating information from many different sources. Frith was one of the first neuro-scientists to recognize "autism as a condition of the brain rather than the result of cold parenting." In 1985, Frith, Leslie, and Baron-Cohen created the Sally-Anne test to measure a child's cognitive understanding. A child with autism would generally get the Sally-Anne questions incorrect, while a typical child or a child with Down Syndrome would generally get the questions correct. In 1996, Frith, Eraldo Paulesu, and Maggie Snowling conducted a longitudinal research study showing that, while completing tasks requiring phonological processing, people with autism show a lack of connectivity between the front and back of their brain.
She was one of the first in the UK to study Asperger's syndrome, at CDU London. Her work focused on reading development, spelling and dyslexia. Frith attacked the theory that dyslexia was linked to lack of intelligence or caused by impairment in visual recognition. In 1980, she published a book on dyslexia, recounting how patients with dyslexia can be perfectly apt readers, but have persistent spelling errors, whereas it had commonly been thought was that the two entities were not mutually exclusive. Her research, along with Maggie Snowling's, showed that dyslexics tend to struggle with phonological processing.
Frith has been supported through her career by the Medical Research Council at University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
. Frith is an active collaborator at the Interacting Minds Centre at Aarhus University
Aarhus University ( da, Aarhus Universitet, abbreviated AU) is a public research university with its main campus located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Gr ...
in Denmark. The goal of the centre is to provide a trans-disciplinary platform, upon which the many aspects of human interaction may be studied. The project is based in part on a paper written with Chris Frith
Christopher Donald Frith, (born 16 March 1942) is a psychologist and professor emeritus at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at University College London. Visiting Professor at the Interacting Minds Centre at Aarhus University, Resear ...
: ''Interacting Minds – a Biological Basis''.
Supporting women in science
Frith has advocated the advancement of women in science
The presence of women in science spans the earliest times of the history of science wherein they have made significant contributions. Historians with an interest in gender and science have researched the scientific endeavors and accomplishments ...
, in part by developing a support network called Science & Shopping, which she hopes will "encourage women to share ideas and information that are inspiring and fun." She also co-founded the UCL Women network, "a grassroots networking and social organization for academic staff (postdocs and above) in STEM
Stem or STEM may refer to:
Plant structures
* Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang
* Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure
* Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...
at UCL," in January 2013. In 2015 she was named chair of the Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
's Diversity Committee, where she has written about unconscious bias and how it affects which scientists receive grants.
In the media
On 11 May 2012 Frith appeared as a guest on the American PBS ''Charlie Rose'' television interview show.[.] On 4 December she appeared as a guest on the "Brain" episode of BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...
's '' Dara Ó Briain's Science Club''.
On 1 March 2013 she was the guest on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...
's ''Desert Island Discs
''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942.
Each week a guest, called a "castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usua ...
''.
Frith has written on the visibility of women in science, by promoting an exhibition on female scientist portraits at The Royal Society in 2013.
From 31 March to 4 April 2014, to coincide with World Autism Awareness Day
World Autism Awareness Day is an internationally recognized day annually on April 2nd, encouraging Member States of the United Nations to take measures to raise awareness about autistic individuals throughout the world. It was designated by the ...
on 2 April, she was the guest of Sarah Walker on BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also featuring. The sta ...
's ''Essential Classics''. On 1 April 2014, she featured in "Living with Autism", an episode of the BBC's ''Horizon'' documentary series.
On 26 August 2015, she presented the ''Horizon'' episode entitled "OCD: A Monster in my Mind", and on 29 August 2017 she presented the ''Horizon'' episode entitled "What Makes a Psychopath?".
On 13 December 2017, she gave an interview to the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, in which she talked about her early life and her passion for autism research in children.
Awards
Frith was elected a Fellow of the British Academy
Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are:
# Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom
# ...
and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences
Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci) is an award for medical scientists who are judged by the UK Academy of Medical Sciences for the "excellence of their science, their contribution to medicine and society and the range of th ...
in 2001, a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2005,[ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where: ] an Honorary Fellow of the British Psychological Society
The British Psychological Society (BPS) is a representative body for psychologists and psychology in the United Kingdom.
History
It was founded on 24 October 1901 at University College London (UCL) as ''The Psychological Society'', the org ...
in 2006, a member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (german: Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften), short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded ...
in 2008, an Honorary Fellow of Newnham College, Cambridge
Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge.
The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millic ...
in 2008, a Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nat ...
in 2012, an Honorary Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
in 2012, and a Williams James Fellow Award in 2013.
She was President of the Experimental Psychology Society
The Experimental Psychology Society (EPS) is an academic society which facilitates research into experimental psychology and communication between experimental psychologists. It is based in the United Kingdom.
The society was originally formed ...
in 2006–2007. In 2009 Frith and her husband jointly received the European Latsis Prize The European Latsis Prize is awarded annually by the European Science Foundation for "outstanding and innovative contributions in a selected field of European research". The prize is worth 100,000 Swiss francs and is awarded within a different disci ...
for their contribution to understanding the human mind and brain.
Frith was awarded the Mind & Brain Prize in 2010. In 2014, she and her husband won the Jean Nicod Prize
The Jean Nicod Prize is awarded annually in Paris to a leading philosopher of mind or philosophically oriented cognitive scientist. The lectures are organized by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique as part of its effort to promote int ...
, for their work on social cognition. In 2015, she was listed as one of BBC's 100 Women.
Frith's honorary damehood (DBE) was made substantive on 4 April 2019. This allowed her to be called Dame Uta.
Personal life
Frith married Chris Frith
Christopher Donald Frith, (born 16 March 1942) is a psychologist and professor emeritus at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at University College London. Visiting Professor at the Interacting Minds Centre at Aarhus University, Resear ...
in 1966. He is now Professor Emeritus at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging
The 'Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging'' at University College London is a world-leading interdisciplinary centre for neuroimaging research based in London, United Kingdom. Researchers at the Centre use expertise to investigate how the hum ...
at University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
. In 2008 a double portrait was painted by Emma Wesley. They have two sons.
In 2009 Frith and her husband jointly received the European Latsis Prize The European Latsis Prize is awarded annually by the European Science Foundation for "outstanding and innovative contributions in a selected field of European research". The prize is worth 100,000 Swiss francs and is awarded within a different disci ...
for their contribution to understanding the human mind and brain.
She holds the title of Professor Emeritus of Cognitive Development at University College London.
References
External links
*
Profile
ICN Developmental Group
Profile
UCL IRIS (Institutional Research Information Service)
Interview with Uta Frith
"Exploring Autism – A conversation with Uta Frith"
''Ideas Roadshow'' (29 March 2013)
A historical look at the transition from "mentally defective" etc. to autism, August 2014, by Uta Frith
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frith, Uta
Living people
1941 births
Academics of University College London
Alumni of King's College London
Autism researchers
Developmental psychologists
Dyslexia researchers
Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom)
Fellows of the British Academy
Fellows of the Royal Society
Female Fellows of the Royal Society
Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences
German emigrants to the United Kingdom
German expatriates in England
German women psychologists
Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Honorary Fellows of Newnham College, Cambridge
BBC 100 Women