Status of this model: This is an explanatory framework and working hypothesis, not an official DSM diagnosis or scientific claim. It is offered as a supplementary conceptual tool, not a replacement for clinical assessment.
To better understand partner violence, it helps to look at how the perpetrator experiences the world. A powerful explanatory model is context blindness. The full framework is developed at contextthinking.org.
What is context blindness?
Our brains work as prediction machines. They combine sensory input (~30%) with context, memories and expectations (~70%). Context sensitivity refers to how well someone integrates that broader context — including the emotional state, intention and perspective of others.
| Low-contextual | High-contextual |
|---|---|
| Literal, black-and-white thinking | Nuanced, relational thinking |
| Focuses on facts, not intention | Strong in Theory of Mind |
| Difficulty taking another's perspective | Sometimes takes too much responsibility for others |
| Transactional | Empathetic |
Example: A low-contextual partner hears "I am tired" as a factual statement. A high-contextual partner also hears "I need attention" or "I am struggling." That difference in interpretation is not malice — it is a structural difference in how information is processed.
Context blindness and controlling behavior
Low-contextual thinkers structurally struggle more with:
- Theory of Mind — imagining how the other person experiences the situation
- Time contextualization — taking past and future into account when assessing a situation
- Emotional nuance — recognizing subtle signals of pain or discomfort
- Outside perspective — estimating how one's own behavior looks to others
In a relationship, this leads to:
- Repeated boundary-crossing behavior without empathy for the impact
- Extreme reactions to small stimuli (everything feels equally "big" without context)
- Inability to understand why the partner is suffering
- Rigid blame assignment
Example: The perpetrator asks: "What did I do wrong now?" — genuinely. Not manipulatively. They lack the capacity to see the impact of their behavior on the other person. This makes guidance different, but no less necessary.
The link with personality disorders
Personality disorders can be understood as pervasive low-contextual thinking styles — rigid, egocentric patterns that the person has difficulty leaving.
This explains why:
- Confrontation rarely works — the perpetrator experiences it as an attack, not as insight
- Behavioral change in perpetrators is exceptionally difficult without long-term therapy
- Couples therapy during active partner violence can be dangerous — the perpetrator uses the session to gather information
Practical implications
- Always treat the perpetrator and victim separately — never in the same session simultaneously
- Don't expect empathic insight from the perpetrator as a starting point for guidance
- Explicit, concrete language works better than nuance with low-contextual interlocutors
- Mentalization-based therapy or schema therapy can structurally change something long-term
- Protect the victim first — focus on the perpetrator must not delay safety
Example: Don't say "Your behavior hurt her." Say instead: "What you did on that date had this concrete consequence." Facts, behavior, consequence — in that order.
Further reading
- contextthinking.org — complete knowledge platform
- YouTube: Complex Denken
- Peter Vermeulen — Autism as Context Blindness
- Vivienne de Vogel — Violence by Women (Van der Hoeven Kliniek, Utrecht)