Christopher Robert Badcock (born 1946) is a British sociologist and emeritus Reader in Sociology at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

, from which he retired in 2011. He received his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from the London School of Economics in 1973 under the supervision of

Ernest Gellner Ernest André Gellner (9 December 1925 – 5 November 1995) was a French-born British-Czech philosopher and social anthropologist described by ''The Daily Telegraph'', when he died, as one of the world's most vigorous intellectuals, and by '' ...

. His thesis, and his early work thereafter, focused on the work of

Claude Levi-Strauss Claude may refer to: People and fictional characters * Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Claude (surname), a list of people * Claude Callegari (1962–2021), English Arsenal supporter * Claude Debussy (1862–1918), ...

. He served as a lecturer in sociology at Polytechnic of the South Bank from 1969 to 1973, and was on the faculty in the Sociology Department at the London School of Economics from 1974 until his retirement. He is known for working with Bernard Crespi to develop the imprinted brain hypothesis, according to which

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

results from "a paternal bias in the

expression Expression may refer to: Linguistics * Expression (linguistics), a word, phrase, or sentence * Expression (mathematics), Symbolic description of a mathematical object * Fixed expression, a form of words with a specific meaning * Idiom, a type of ...

imprinted gene Genomic imprinting is an epigenetic phenomenon that causes genes to be expressed or not, depending on whether they are inherited from the female or male parent. Genes can also be partially imprinted. Partial imprinting occurs when alleles from b ...

s", whereas

psychosis In psychopathology, psychosis is a condition in which a person is unable to distinguish, in their experience of life, between what is and is not real. Examples of psychotic symptoms are delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized or inco ...

results from a maternal and/or

X-chromosome The X chromosome is one of the two sex chromosomes in many organisms, including mammals, and is found in both males and females. It is a part of the XY sex-determination system and XO sex-determination system. The X chromosome was named for its u ...

bias in the expression of such genes.

References

Living people 1946 births British sociologists People educated at Maidstone Grammar School Alumni of the London School of Economics Academics of London South Bank University Academics of the London School of Economics Autism researchers {{UK-sociologist-stub