Empathy and face processing in adults with and without autism spectrum disorder

Rigby, Sarah N.; Stoesz, Brenda M.; Jakobson, Lorna S.

doi:10.1002/aur.1948

Cited by 21 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 92 publications

(122 reference statements)

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“…The results above not only indicate that the empathy impairment of ASC individuals is component specific but also explain a series of controversies about the empathy impairment of ASC individuals. When generally discussed, the empathic integrity of ASC individuals, whether evaluated by theoretical research (Bird and Viding, 2014; Guilé, 2014) or empirical research (Rigby et al, 2018; Tavassoli et al, 2018), is believed to be poorer than that of typically developing individuals. However, when cognitive empathy and affective empathy are analyzed separately, it is found that the trait-affective empathy of ASC individuals is intact (Mazza et al, 2014; Rueda et al, 2015; Senland and Higgins-D'Alessandro, 2016; De Coster et al, 2017; Vyas et al, 2017; Bos and Stokes, 2018; Mul et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, the measurement of state empathy is more dependent on social situation stories and social stimulus pictures (Baron-Cohen et al, 2015; Cassidy et al, 2015; Krach et al, 2015; Rigby et al, 2018), especially the measurement of S-EA (Krach et al, 2015; De Coster et al, 2017), which is more dependent on the accuracy and integrity of social stimulus processing (Cuff et al, 2014). Meanwhile, the impairment of social stimulus processing is universal in ASC individuals (Happé and Ronald, 2008; Rigby et al, 2018), which may interfere with the extent to which ASC individuals share emotions with others. Therefore, ASC individuals do not show similar advantages to the advantages observed for T-EA in existing S-EA measurement tasks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…State-cognitive empathy reflects the immediate cognitive process of the belief in, intention of and feeling for others (Powell and Roberts, 2017). Its main measurement indexes include the score on the state-cognitive empathy items of the Measure of State Empathy (MSE) (Powell and Roberts, 2017), the cognitive empathy score of subjects on the MET (Dziobek et al, 2008), the empathy score of subjects on empathic embarrassment tasks (Adler et al, 2015), the accuracy of emotional judgement of subjects in the “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” test (RMET) (Baron-Cohen et al, 2001, 2015), subjects' recognition of different emotions in emotional facial processing tasks (Cassidy et al, 2015; Rigby et al, 2018) and subjects' pain scores toward the empathy object in pain empathy experiments (Krach et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is often assumed that individuals with ASCs lack empathy (Baron-Cohen and Wheelwright, 2004; Tavassoli et al, 2018), especially at the trait level (Rigby et al, 2018). However, this “established fact” is challenged if the multiple levels and components of empathy are discussed in detail.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Empathy Impairment in Individuals With Autism Spectrum Conditions From a Multidimensional Perspective: A Meta-Analysis

et al. 2019

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Background: Although empathy has always been considered to be impaired in individuals with autism spectrum conditions (ASCs), the relevant findings have been inconsistent. The present meta-analysis aims to determine which empathy components are impaired and how culture, gender, and age moderate such empathy impairment.Methods: By using “Autism,” “Asperger Syndrome,” “Empathy,” and related Chinese synonyms as keywords, we searched the databases of Weipu, Wanfang, CNKI, Web of Science, Science Direct, SpringerLink, and Elsevier through “subject” and “keyword” searches. We also conducted a manual search according to the references. In total, 51 studies from Eastern and Western countries were included in this meta-analysis, which comprised 144 independent effects, 2,095 individuals with ASCs and 2,869 controls without ASCs. For the retrieved data, Hedge's g was taken as the quantitative measure of effect, and CMA V2.0 software was used for publication bias tests (by using Rosenthal's Classic Failsafe-N and Egger's methods), heterogeneity tests (by using a Q-test, I2-test, and H-test) and a moderating effect test (by using a univariate regression model).Results: The results showed that the empathy impairment evident in individuals with ASCs is component specific; that is, trait-cognitive empathy, trait-empathic concern, state-cognitive empathy, and state-empathic concern are impaired, whereas state-empathic accuracy remains intact, and trait-empathic accuracy is superior to the trait-empathic accuracy in neurotypical individuals. The univariate regression model showed that gender moderates the impairment of the trait-empathic concern, trait-empathic accuracy, and state-cognitive empathy in autistic individuals and that age moderates the impairment of the trait-cognitive empathy, trait-empathic accuracy, state-empathic concern, and state-empathic accuracy in autistic individuals. However, culture does not moderate any empathy components (trait-cognitive empathy, trait-empathic concern, or state-cognitive empathy) involved in the present meta-analysis.Conclusions: These findings contribute to ending the controversy over the empathic integrity of individuals with ASCs and shed some light on future research about the empathy impairment of autistic individuals. More specifically, subsequent studies should distinguish specific empathy components and consider the role of gender and age when demonstrating empathy impairment in individuals with ASCs. Moreover, related studies based on Asian collectivist cultural samples and female samples should be further enriched.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Empathy Impairment in Individuals With Autism Spectrum Conditions From a Multidimensional Perspective: A Meta-Analysis

et al. 2019

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“…This long-standing assumption has led to a belief that autistic individuals have fundamentally impaired social abilities ( Baron-Cohen, 2009 ; Lombardo and Baron-Cohen, 2011 ). Furthermore, there is an embedded assumption of impaired emotional intelligence amongst autistic individuals, with assumed deficits in recognising and empathically responding to the emotions of others ( Baron-Cohen, 2009 ; Bodner et al, 2015 ; Rigby et al, 2018 ). From these theoretical assumptions and medicalised framings, intervention research has typically sought to alter the differential socio-cognitive processing styles that result from being autistic ( Waltz, 2013 ; Pearson and Rose, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Overcoming the Double Empathy Problem Within Pairs of Autistic and Non-autistic Adults Through the Contemplation of Serious Literature

et al. 2021

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Recent research based on the needs of the autistic community has explored the frequent social misunderstandings that arise between autistic and non-autistic people, known as the double empathy problem. Double empathy understandings require both groups to respect neurodiversity by focussing on individuality across groups. This study aimed to explore how literature, through its ability to uncover nuanced emotional response differences between readers, could facilitate double empathy understandings within pairs of autistic and non-autistic adults. A longitudinal, qualitative design was used, with 4 gender-matched pairs. Participants read Of Mice and Men for 1 week, whilst completing a structured, reflective diary. This was followed by 4 one-hour paired reading sessions, where pairs discussed the book and their reflections in depth. Participants were then invited to a final one-on-one interview to discuss their thoughts and experiences of the paired reading sessions. Thematic and literary analysis of the session and interview data revealed four themes (1) The Book as Social Oil; (2) From a World of Difference to a World of Affinity; (3) Emotional Intelligence: From Thinking About to Feeling with; and (4) From Overwhelming to Overcoming. All participants reported having achieved an individualised view of one another to explore their nuanced differences. The non-autistic group reported a more sensitive understanding of what it means to be autistic, while the autistic group overcame concerns about non-autistic people stereotyping autism, and instead reported feeling valued and accommodated by their non-autistic partners.

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Empathy in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Harmsen

2019

J Autism Dev Disord

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Empathy and face processing in adults with and without autism spectrum disorder

Cited by 21 publications

References 92 publications

Empathy Impairment in Individuals With Autism Spectrum Conditions From a Multidimensional Perspective: A Meta-Analysis

Empathy Impairment in Individuals With Autism Spectrum Conditions From a Multidimensional Perspective: A Meta-Analysis

Overcoming the Double Empathy Problem Within Pairs of Autistic and Non-autistic Adults Through the Contemplation of Serious Literature

Empathy in Autism Spectrum Disorder

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