Reading the Mind in the Eyes is a psychometric test first published by Simon Baron-Cohen and colleagues in 1997 and revised in 2001. It was designed to measure subjects' ‘mentalizing’ ability, or their capacity to attribute cognitive and emotional states to others. Although originally developed and used for autistic adults, this instrument has proven remarkably durable in the succeeding two decades. This is notable for several reasons. The instrument itself is a historical artefact composed of cropped photographs from 1990s-era commercial magazines. Researchers have also noted that it may measure emotional vocabulary better than emotion recognition. In the decades following its publication, the theory underpinning the test, that autistics lack components of the ability to empathize, has been critiqued both by autism researchers and by autistics themselves. Despite these potential shortcomings, researchers in numerous fields have used it to assess a broad range of diagnostically defined groups, including those with substance use disorders, eating disorders and personality and neurodevelopmental disorders. Indeed, it is cited far more frequently now than it was in the decade following its publication. This essay considers how this instrument defines autism as a particular type of disability, and how the capacities purportedly associated with the ability to read minds through eyes are then used to characterize a range of human differences.

读心术是一项心理测试，由 Simon Baron-Cohen 及其同事于 1997 年首次发表，并于 2001 年修订。它旨在测量受试者的“心智化”能力，或他们将认知和情绪状态归因于他人的能力。虽然最初是为自闭症成年人开发和使用的，但该仪器在接下来的二十年中被证明非常耐用。这有几个原因值得注意。该乐器本身是一件历史文物，由 1990 年代商业杂志的裁剪照片组成。研究人员还指出，它可能比情绪识别更好地测量情绪词汇。在它发表后的几十年里，作为测试基础的理论，自闭症患者缺乏移情能力的组成部分，受到自闭症研究人员和自闭症患者本身的批评。尽管存在这些潜在的缺点，但许多领域的研究人员已经使用它来评估广泛的诊断定义的群体，包括那些患有物质使用障碍、饮食障碍以及人格和神经发育障碍的人群。事实上，它现在被引用的频率比它出版后的十年要高得多。本文考虑了该工具如何将自闭症定义为一种特殊类型的残疾，以及据称与通过眼睛阅读思想的能力相关的能力如何被用来表征一系列人类差异。包括那些患有物质使用障碍、饮食障碍以及人格和神经发育障碍的人。事实上，它现在被引用的频率比它出版后的十年要高得多。本文考虑了该工具如何将自闭症定义为一种特殊类型的残疾，以及据称与通过眼睛阅读思想的能力相关的能力如何被用来表征一系列人类差异。包括那些患有物质使用障碍、饮食障碍以及人格和神经发育障碍的人。事实上，它现在被引用的频率比它出版后的十年要高得多。本文考虑了该工具如何将自闭症定义为一种特殊类型的残疾，以及据称与通过眼睛阅读思想的能力相关的能力如何被用来表征一系列人类差异。