Empathy, Autistic Tendencies, and Systemizing Tendencies—Relationships Between Standard Self-Report Measures

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate associations between four highly used self-report measures assessing empathy (measured as both a unidimensional and multidimensional construct), autistic tendencies, and systemizing tendencies. Participants in this study completed the following self-report measures: The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and the Empathy Quotient (EQ) to measure empathy, and the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) and the Systemizing Quotient–Revised (SQ-R) to assess autistic and systemizing tendencies, respectively. The final sample consisted of N = 1,098 participants (304 males) without a diagnosed autism spectrum disorder, most of whom were university students. The IRI scale “Perspective Taking” and the EQ were negatively related to the AQ in male and female participants, while the IRI scale “Empathic Concern” was negatively related to the AQ in females only. Moreover, the AQ was positively related to the SQ-R in females only. Lastly, the SQ-R and a number of the empathy scales were significantly associated: For example and surprisingly, the EQ correlated weakly and positively with the SQ-R in both male and female participants. The results from this study illustrate how standard self-report measures of empathy, autistic tendencies, and systemizing tendencies are associated with each other in a large sample not diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Additionally, some potential gender-specific effects are revealed.

Cognitive inflexibility and over‐attention to detail: The Italian validation of the DFlex Questionnaire in patients with eating disorders

“…First, the DFlex is a self‐report questionnaire and therefore has the typical limitations of these kinds of instruments: for example, they may be affected by the individuals's social desirability and their level of insight into their thinking style (Roberts et al, 2011). On the other hand, self‐report measures present some advantages: they are cheap and quick to administer, features that are crucial in clinical practice (Sindermann, Cooper, & Montag, 2019 ) . Second, as in the original article, in our sample females outnumbered males, likely because of the different distribution of ED between genders in general population.…”

Sex vs Gender: A Biological Location for Gender, not Sex.

“…Consistent with results in several previous studies on empathy (females>males) and autism, a large study of online participants N = 1098 (304 males), average age 21.94 years, females scored higher on all scales measuring empathy. Additionally, for autistic and systemizing tendencies, males > females (Sindermann et al, 2019).…”

“…An exact definition of empathy is elusive. The broad agreement says it comprises both affective (feeling similar emotions to another person) and cognitive components (understanding the feelings of another person) (Sindermann, Cooper, & Montag, 2019). Empathy can also be defined as "appropriate perception, experience and response to another's emotion" (Swain et al, 2007, p. 23): It is "the ability to understand and share in the internal states of others" (Christov-Moore et al, 2014, p. 604) and "without confusion between oneself and others" (Decety & Lamm, 2006, p. 146).…”

Empathy and systemizing in preschool children

“…Istraživanja uglavnom nalaze viši nivo empatije kod osoba ženskog pola (Baron-Cohen et al, 2003;Billington et al, 2007;De Wied et al, 2007;Escovar et al, 2016;Nettle, 2007;Sindermann et al, 2019;Tavassoli et al, 2018;Wakabayashi et al, 2006). Međutim, postoje i studije koje nisu potvrdile očekivane polne razlike.…”

“…Prema nalazima u literaturi osobe muškog pola imaju u proseku viši SQ (Billington et al, 2007;Cheng et al, 2008;Escovar et al, 2016;Ling et al, 2009;Nettle, 2007;Sindermann et al, 2019;Von Horn et al, 2010;Wakabayashi et al, 2007). Iako se u našem istraživanju dečaci i devojčice nisu značajno razlikovali u visini SQ-a, treba reći da su opažene razlike bile u očekivanom smeru.…”