Empathy

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I've read many discussions here on whether or not people with ASDs lack empathy, so I thought I'd do a survey.
I'd do this as a poll if I could, but since the software won't allow people to select multiple options...

Please indicate which of the following you possess (if you possess it but to a lower or higher degree than is normal, please also state that):

- Cognitive empathy

- Affective empathy

- Compassion

- Caring

I have some cognitive empathy but not as much as is normal.
I have next to no affective empathy.
I have more of a sense of compassion than most people I know.
Generally my sense of caring for people is lower, but I care a lot once I know someone is worth caring about.

Can you give the definitions that you are referring to?

I keep on getting cognitive and affective mixed up, so I'll just say:

Lack:
-empathy (not knowing what people are feeling when looking at them; not feeling anything for them by just looking at them)
-no social empathy (lack of contagious yawning is the pointer for that)

Have:
-sympathy (understand what's going on when it's explained, and even more if I've experienced it; this is often called one of those two empathy terms above I get mixed up)
-compassion
-care

OK, I'll answer informally:

- Cognitive empathy
I'm bad at identifying other people's emotions.

- Affective empathy
If I notice that people suffer physical pain or have concrete problems that I understand, it concerns me a lot.
If it's about complex emotional problems, then not so much.

- Compassion
Limited by my lack of empathy, and I'm also very bad at expressing it.

- Caring
I generally try to be as helpful as possible, if the person is friendly and I'm capable of helping.

I have a lot of Machiavellian traits, I will do what I need to do to get what I want. It doesn't matter what the others feel. I am very good at manipulating others to get what I want.

I have empathy for characters in movies and tv shows that I like, but have trouble with people IRL, even family members, I feign concern and compassion.

I know it's wrong, but I can't help it.

Well, I've always been caring, but I also have a fair amount of cognitive empathy; I learnt this through learning over the span of many years...I'd describe myself as much more sympathetic than empathetic.

Quite low on cognitive empathy (though it depends on the situation).

Moderate on affective empathy.

Quite high on compassion.

Quite low on caring.

Who_Am_I, I find it curious that you say you're lacking in the area of affective empathy, while you do have some cognitive empathy. I believe that Simon Baron-Cohen has said the opposite usually holds true for people on the spectrum.

For myself, however, I find I'm not so hot with either cognitive OR affective empathy. I have severe problems 'reading' the emotions of others, and I can't say that I 'feel along' with the emotional moods of others either. I can sometimes cognitively identify the emotional states of others, but only if it's very, very obvious, or if they outright tell me. But after learning how they are feeling, for example sad or angry, I usually won't 'go along' with that in terms of empathising. I can invent for myself the appropriate response, but it doesn't come naturally to me.

As for compassion and caring, these two used to be a very big deal for me, especially with loved ones like family and friends. I used to be the white knight for them, someone who would run through the fire for those I considered 'my own'. Unfortunately, recently I've grown more and more distant and solitary, and have cut ties with most friends and relatives... My sense of caring and compassion has diminished greatly, and I'm now mainly looking out for number one. This has been a major change of attitude for me, and it continues to concern me, but for the moment it is my preferred state of being.

So, to sum it up:

Cognitive empathy: zero.
Affective empathy: zero.
Compassion: used to be major, but has decreased. I'll be compassionate to strangers I meet, as well as animals.\
Caring: used to be big, but has decreased. I'll mainly be concerned with myself.

Cognitive empathy: Low
I don't know what other people are feeling, and I don't think about it either.

Affective empathy: Low
When I know what other people are feeling, I don't share their feelings.

Compassion: Variable
I have compassion for physical suffering of others, but not emotional. I can help people in practical ways, but no emotional support from me.

Caring: Normal to High
I care a lot about people I know being happy and living well.

I know he has, but it's not the case for me.
With effort, I can figure out what someone is feeling.
However, I don't feel people's pain. I can, however, care about the fact that they're hurting, or be glad that they're happy, and so forth, but that response seems to be mediated by thought and not a direct response.

- Cognitive empathy
Low. I can work out what people are feeling only when it is extreme (screaming and crying extreme). Even then I might not be able to distinguish between different negative emotions.

- Affective empathy
Average. When I can tell what someone is feeling I usually feel it myself, even if it is just a vague "bad".

- Compassion
Like Vectorspace, physical pain and concrete problems yes, not necessarily for emotional problems unless they are simple (like a lost child being frightened).

- Caring
I do care about the problems mentioned above when I'm aware of them, but I consciously try not to care about them when I have no concrete way of helping.

I'm not very great at identifying people's emotional states, but I do have that ability to some degree, at least when it's a simpler emotion and it's stronger. I'm useless at identifying love and flirting.

I definitely feel pain for other's pain when I can sense it. I used to feel it more, but over time I've grown callused as I've grown depressed and cynical. Meh.

I care and have compassion, but I don't know what to do to help, so I just do nothing and feel even more awful until I forget about it. I'm too anxious to really intervene everything, the added personal distress makes my social anxiety go up even more, and I don't want to accidentally make things worse as I'm not good. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niAS5IJdRcw[/youtube]. I always try to help when I can and I think I won't hurt anything.

Depends on the person and situation. I recognize raw emotion in most all people but don't necessarily identify or relate to the situations of others on an intuitive level when they have personality traits that are vastly different from me.


Same as above, it depends on the situation and whether I can personally relate. Also, if I'm too overwhelmed with my own problems, having sensory issues, feeling distracted/interrupted/intruded upon, etc... my sympathy kind of breaks down.


I know I want to see myself as compassionate but it's kind of an ideal more than anything. I don't necessarily live up to it.


Same as above. I have to deal with my own problems first or I'm pretty useless.