Back in 2006, researcher teams in the USA and Germany teamed up to assess empathy in adults with Asperger's. Their findings were published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. The results were deemed surprising by many in the field at the time. Why? Because they contradicted many widely held beliefs about people on the spectrum, who are often described as "robotic" and "incapable of empathy". "They just can't read between the lines!" is a common complaint regarding Aspie adults.
Consider, however, the abstract below:
Who Cares? Revisiting Empathy in Asperger Syndrome
A deficit in empathy has consistently been cited as a central characteristic of Asperger syndrome (AS), but previous research on adults has predominantly focused on cognitive empathy, effectively ignoring the role of affective empathy. We administered the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), a multi-dimensional measure of empathy, and the Strange Stories test to 21 adults with AS and 21 matched controls. Our data show that while the AS group scored lower on the measures of cognitive empathy and theory of mind, they were no different from controls on one affective empathy scale of the IRI (empathic concern), and scored higher than controls on the other (personal distress). Therefore, we propose that the issue of empathy in AS should be revisited.
Authors:
(1) Millhauser Laboratories (MHL-400), Center for Brain Health, New York University School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA
(2) Institute of Experimental Psychology, University of Dusseldorf, Dusseldorf, Germany
(3) Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, NY, USA
This research is contrary to most stereotypical versions of the Aspie as cold-hearted and uninterested in the feelings of others. So why does the common stereotype persist? Perhaps it is easy to miss empathy which is heartfelt, but not explicitly expressed. Perhaps, in this case, the burden is on the typical partner, friend or loved one to do the reading between the lines.
4 comments:
Please please do not tell me I am a robot. My GF and I fight over this constantly. I am going to forward this to her. so true.
This is a great article, my AS boyfriend is extremely sensitive and compassionate. Its just all in his head. We are working toward my being able to understand that :)
My husband of 17 years might be an Aspie, and I want to try to understand him better. But I am so emotionally and relationally starved, and have done so much of the initiating and teaching about social norms that it is difficult to read that now I'm the one who has to change in this new way and spend the energy trying to read between his lines. How can Aspies learn to improve? And what is it that physiologically keeps them from being able to experience sympathy for others? It seems pretty inconsistent that they have the capability to feel bad for themselves, but not for others.
My husband of 17 years might be an Aspie, and I want to try to understand him better. But I am so emotionally and relationally starved, and have done so much of the initiating and teaching about social norms that it is difficult to read that now I'm the one who has to change in this new way and spend the energy trying to read between his lines. How can Aspies learn to improve? And what is it that physiologically keeps them from being able to experience sympathy for others? It seems pretty inconsistent that they have the capability to feel bad for themselves, but not for others.
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