Myers Brigg's, autism/ADHD, and low latent inhibiton.

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http://highlysensitive.org/64/highly-se ... reativity/


http://www.thetherapywebsite.co.uk/low- ... n-c45.html


I'm on some Jungian psychology/Myers Brigg's forums (I refuse to use the term "fora") and am sort of obsessed with the whole thing. More recently, I've become obsessed with the concept of low latent inhibition.

Most people on these forums think that autistic people should be IS_ _ types, because of the literal thinking common to these people and because they are more in tuned with their environment, which I suppose is assumed to make them detail-oriented. It's usually agreed on these forums that these would be the people with lower latent inhibition, simply because they are taking in more information and processing the details of their surroundings to a greater degree.

However, we all know that most Aspies and ADHDers are _NT_ types and I'll be damned if an Aspie is oblivious to details. The Aspies and the ADHDers are known to have lower levels of latent inhibition, and it is definitely obvious that an autistic person is focused on processing information.

It's curious, though, because it seems like the S types SHOULD be the ones with LLI. Does this mean that we N types started out as S types and began to withdraw and rely on our intuition because of sensory overload? Or does this mean the S types simply experience average levels of latent inhibition and remain S types because they aren't being overwhelmed by the constant stream of consciousness? I don't know the stats, but as far as I know S types are more common than Ns, so it would make sense that they are simply sensing types because their LI remains at a level that allows them to to stay grounded and process information the way that most people do.

I've talked about MBTI in the past here and about how I wonder how much it really applies to those on the spectrum. I do agree that it does apply to ADHDers and autistics in many ways because it only indicates behaviors that are present and not the root cause, but I also think that those of us with a psychological profile that deviates form the norm have some different root causes of our behavior and need different explanations for the way that our behaviors manifest themselves on the surface, that can't really be addressed by the MBTI.

Is there anyone here who feels that they don't have LLI?

Shizophrenics have low latent inhibition and I believe the theory that autism is the opposite of schizophrenia, so I would expect autistics to have high latent inhibition. Low latent inhibition + high IQ = creativity. However autistics can also be very creative but perhaps there's a different mechanism (obsessive focus?)

Perhaps it's the logical thinking patterns that prevent autistic people from becoming schizophrenic. I don't think that schizophrenics are less intelligent than autistics and we certainly know that there are people with genius IQs who become schizophrenic, so perhaps it has more to with the style of thinking and which areas of the brain are more or less active.

Most people with autism do not have high LI. They may often be less creative types due to the aforementioned reasons.

Are you sure?

In most cases, as well as with ADHD. It's not easy to find a lot information about it but I know that most people here have a difficult time blocking out external stimuli and that many Aspies are like walking encyclopedias as result.

Aspies are also considered Highly Sensitive People, the link between LLI and Highly Sensitive People is discussed in the first article.

I guess Id be described as low LI, and I am diagnosed with both AS and AD/HD as well as described by phychs as Severly emotionally disturbed.

I think I have high latent inhibition, if anything, because I am completely oblivious to my environment most of the time and have trouble taking in a lot of information from it even when I am trying.

I think most autistics have high latent inhibition. That would explain the obsessive single minded narrow focus; the polar opposite of schizophrenics who get distracted constantly.

It seems like it should be true in the case of classic autism, but most Aspies have ADHD or inattentive traits. The narrow focus is present at times, but not always. The same is true with ADHD(more often so the hyperactive type), we have LLI but can switch over into a state of hyper focus, at least in my case.

LLI also partially explains why most Aspies and ADHDers have executive function impairment, we may be fabulous with organizing data but get distracted by all the elements of the bigger picture and develop anxiety because we can't block all of the details out, this is what causes me great difficulty with planning. I always have about 4 or 5 different scenarios plotted out in my mind of how HORRIBLY wrong any given situation could go.