Revisiting Empathy in Asperger Syndrome

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Who Cares? Revisiting Empathy in Asperger Syndrome
Kimberley Rogers, Isabel Dziobek, Jason Hassenstab, Oliver T. Wolf, Antonio Convit
J Autism Dev Disord (2007) 37:709–715

Yes! Yes! Somebody likes us!

Unlike the EQ, which was created to demonstrate that autistic people are lower in empathy, the IRI was created to measure empathy in anybody. Autism wasn't even considered back in the day. Neither were any other specific demographic group - the IRI is a generic measure of empathy, divided into four distinct scales, measuring fantasy empathy, perspective taking, empathic concern, and personal distress. I had a thread on here earlier about the IRI (plus my webpage for the test), and while our scores were below the means posted with the original scale, they were still more or less in the middle. I couldn't do a statistical test because I didn't have a control group. These people had a control group.



In other words, people assume we are low in empathy, but they don't usually bother to check. Very scientific, yah!

The researchers found that their adult AS subjects scored lower on perspective taking and a ToM test (Happé's Strange Stories, which looks like more advanced ToM, but I need to read up on it to be sure); they scored the same on empathic concern and even higher on personal distress. In other words, we may not know what's going on, but we care, we really do.



Aww, gee. Thank you. And this last bit is what really gets my approval: the authors get that bad theory can be used against us out there in the real world.



What really impressed me is the tact with which the researchers made their point. Wish I knew how to be so tactful, and yet still get my point across.

I sure hope someone's listening to these guys.

***

If someone already posted on this paper I appear to have missed it. Perhaps before I joined? I think other papers have been mentioned, but I don't remember seeing this one.

Interesting.

EDIT: Took the test, my highest was fantasy with a 19, lowest was perspective taking at 12, with the other two being 14 and 15.

Last edited by Padium on 23 Dec 2008, 1:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

The study only confirms what 'we' have known for a long time. Hope it's distributed to the professionals and hope that they actually read it.

Personally, I don't have any empathy. I don't know if it's an autistic trait, or if it's a trait that is co-morbid in many autistics, but it's the case with me. This doesn't mean I can't care, however. I do love my husband and my son very much. I am just incapable of empathy.

What's "affective empathy"?

Aside, I got this on your test (diagnosis of Autistic Disorder):

Fantasy: 3
Perspective-taking: 4
Empathetic Concern: 4
Personal Distress: 8

O, and I don't see it as something negative when someone says "us", "we" or "me" lack empathy; empathy doesn't mean much--it's like a lie, i.e., feeling an emotional state of someone even though you haven't actually been through what they have which makes it, whereas sympathy is something that's more true, i.e., you know what it's like to have a broken arm because you've had one before, so you can understand the pain when someone breaks their arm.

Fantasy: 22
Perspective taking: 10
Empathetic Concern: 15
Personal Distress: 20

[no diagnosis; the on-line tests - of course, with no clinical reliability - usually say that I have Schizoid PD]

How can you love somebody whom you don't empathize with?

What test?

What test?

edit: nevermind I found it buried in there

edit #2: what the heck, how did my edit make a new post

To me they are just completely separate feelings. That question is as irrelevant to me as "How can you love somebody whom you don't play tennis with?"

I agree. I don't understand what's the deal with it, what's so wrong about lacking in empathy?

Fantasy 26
perspective-taking 8
empathic concern 10
personal distress 18

I'm not entirely sure what this actually means. I'm not diagnosed with AS or anything like that, although I suspect I'm mildly AS.

If empathy is something like I become sad because the other person is sad, I think that is difficult to love someone without having empathy by her/him.

That's what I said. If there's no emotional reciprocity to speak of, I don't see how any kind of human relationship is possible. If what the other person goes through on a daily basis does not touch me emotionally, marriage would be a sham.

Parents instantly love their unborn child.

Your scores: Fantasy: 28; Persective-taking: 18; Empathic Concern: 25; Personal Distress: 20