Cognitive Empathy or Something Else

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I was watching a movie the other evening and one of the actors unexpectedly bumped his head into a cabinet. I had my typical reaction, which is I felt a very brief tightness in my body (usually in my shoulder area) and then flinched. While it hadn't occurred to me before, I do this all the time (whenever I see someone else get unexpectedly hurt).

Let me give some more examples. If was with someone and they happened to get a paper cut, I would flinch and check my own finger to make certain it's OK. Or, when watching a sport telecast, if a player twisted his knee, I would feel tightness and my thoughts would focus on my own knee.

I want to be clear, I don't actually feel the pain (as if it were happening to me). But I feel like the event is happening to me, without the pain. Albeit very briefly.

So, cognitive empathy is the largely conscious drive to recognize accurately and understand another’s emotional state. Is this the same thing? As I am feeling what they are feeling (even if that feeling is simply acting, as in a movie), albeit for a micro second. Or is something else going on. Is this simply being hyper sensitive to my surrounding? Or is this simply me being anxious?

More importantly, do others respond similarly to these type of situations.

That's emotional empathy that you're feeling. It's an instinctive reaction to viewing another's emotional state or pain. I believe it involves mirror neurons in the brain.

Yes I think that's emotional empathy. It often happens to me.

That is a symptom of Mirror-Tactile Synesthesia, even if you do not feel the same sensation as the person who got hurt, although most people who experience mirror-tactile synesthesia, do feel a degree of the same sensation, in the the same area of the body. People who experience mirror-tactile synesthesia, are found to have high levels of Affective (not Cognitive) Empathy (although, anything is possible in terms of experiencing Synesthesia) .

Last edited by Britte on 30 Jan 2016, 4:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I also feel others' physical pain. And sometimes other sensations that I imagine they feel. It's not really abnormal, from what I've read.

Hi Yigeren. Perhaps, not. I have been reading articles regarding various types of synesthesia, and the articles regarding mirror-tactile synesthesia, basically noted the things I mentioned. But, it could be a normal response experienced by the average person, I suppose. : )

What you experience, mirroring the physical pain felt by others, I believe is normal. I also don't think that contradicts, nor is atypical, for Asperger's. You see someone get a papercut, you know that may hurt (physically) and react accordingly. I think AS is more likely to make it difficult understanding when someone get hurt in a non-physical way. Doesn't mean that the individual with AS doesn't care, just that he/she may lack awareness of their emotions.

Thanks everyone for your responses. Just to clarify, I am not really certain how the other person actually feels (when the unexpected event occurs). My response, I believe, is how I would react if I were in the same situation.

I can think of another example where I see someone eating some food which I consider disgusting. I would have a similar reaction (feeling of tightness plus I might for a micro-second feel queasy). I believe I will have that same reaction if I merely saw the food (and imagined eating it). I believe I will have that same reaction even if the other person enjoyed eating that type of food.

I guess what I am trying to say is this. I am not certain I am mirroring the other person. Rather, it seems like I am inserting myself into that same situation and reacting to the situation in my own natural (and in some cases peculiar) way.

I think that's normal. I have a bad reaction if I see someone eat something that I find disgusting, whether or not they enjoy it themselves. I am really weird about food, though.

That's interesting - what is the real difference between cognitive empathy and emotional empathy for autistics?
I suppose it depends on the individual, like a lot of things. I have been having this discussion with the counsellor who seems intent on convincing me I'm normal. But what I describe is cognitively based, not emotionally based. I refrain from cruelty because of ethics, because I believe it the right thing to do, not because I am able to "put yourself in another's place," as Rocket seems to be able to do easily. This goes for love, too - my actions may appear to be emotionally based, but you can have a cognitive expression of something that appears, to NT therapists, like an emotional response.
The two responses probably use different areas of the brain. Definitely something interesting to discuss.

I believe I do this easily only in those situations that I have experienced before. As an example, I have bumped my head into a cabinet before. I know what it feels like. I also knows what it feels like to have a paper cut. My response to those situations is based upon those prior experiences.