Empathising and systematising in children with and without autism spectrum disorder

Authors

  • Alev Girli Dokuz Eylul University
  • Filiz Karadağ Dokuz Eylul University
  • Burak Karabey Dokuz Eylul University

Keywords:

Autism spectrum conditions, children with typical development processes, empathy, systematize, validity and reliability, sex

Abstract

It is known that children with autism are insufficient in building empathy. A part of the difficulties in social interaction may originate from the lack of empathy. This research consists of two studies. First study is adaptation of the “Child Empathy Systemizing Quotient” (EQ-SQ) to Turkish culture which is prepared considering the behaviour characteristics of children in the Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) group, and realizing its validity and reliability. This research is conducted with 760 children with typical development processes, aged 9 – 16. The findings show that the Turkish EQ-SQ is a valid and reliable tool. The second study is conducted with 112 children, 32 of them having ASC and 80 not. Through this quotient, the empathy and systematizing abilities of children with ASC are compared with their peers who demonstrate typical development processes. The EQ-SQ levels of the participants are evaluated with their mothers and their demographical values are taken from the mothers. In line with the findings in the literature, the empathy skills of children diagnosed with ASC are significantly lower than children with typical development processes. Among the children with typical development processes, females’ empathy skills are shown to be significantly higher than males

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

Author Biographies

Alev Girli, Dokuz Eylul University

Assist Prof., Dokuz Eylul University, Buca Faculty of Education, Special Education Department

Filiz Karadağ, Dokuz Eylul University

Research Assist., Dokuz Eylul University, Buca Faculty of Education, Special Education Department

Burak Karabey, Dokuz Eylul University

Assist Prof., Dokuz Eylul University, Buca Faculty of Education, Special Education Department

References

Allison, Baron-Cohen,Wheelwright, Stone, & Muncer’in (2011). Psychometric analysis of the Empathy Quotient (EQ). Personality and Individual Differences 51, 829–835.

Andrew, J., Cooke, M., & Muncer, S. J. (2008). The relationship between empathy and Machiavellianism: An alternative to empathizing–systemizing theory. Personality and Individual Differences, 44(5), 1203-1211.

Auyeung, B., Baron‐Cohen, S., Ashwin, E., Knickmeyer, R., Taylor, K., & Hackett, G. (2009). Fetal testosterone and autistic traits. British Journal of Psychology, 100(1), 1-22.

Auyeung, B., Wheelwright, S., Allison,C., Atkinson,M., Samarawickrema, N., Baron- Cohen, S. (2009). The children's empathy quotient and systemizing quotient: sex differences in typical development and in autism spectrum conditions, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorder. 39:1509–1521.

Auyeung, B., Allison, C., Wheelwright, S., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2012). Brief report: development of the adolescent empathy and systemizing quotients. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 42(10), 2225-2235.

Baron-Cohen,S. (2001). “Theory of mind and autism: a review.” Special Issues of International Review of Mental Retardation, vol. 23, 169-175.

Baron-Cohen, S. (2002). The extreme male brain theory of autism. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 6, 248–254.

Baron-Cohen, S., Richler, J., Bisarya, D., Gurunathan, N., & Wheelwright, S. (2003). The systemizing quotient: an investigation of adults with Asperger syndrome or high– functioning autism, and normal sex differences.Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 358(1430), 361-374.

Baron-Cohen, S., & Wheelwright, S. (2004). The empathy quotient: an investigation of adults with Asperger syndrome or high functioning autism, and normal sex differences. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 34(2), 163-175.

Baron-Cohen, S., Knickmeyer, R., & Belmonte, M. K. (2005). Sex differences in the brain: Implications for explaining autism. Science, 310, 819–823.

Baron-Cohen, S. (2009). The empathising-systemising theory of autism: implications for education. Tizard Learning Disability Review, 14, 3, 4-10.

Baron-Cohen, S., Lombardo, M. V., Auyeung, B., Ashwin, E., Chakrabarti, B., & Knickmeyer, R. (2011). Why are autism spectrum conditions more prevalent in males? PLoS Biology, 9, 1–10.

Berthoz, S., Wessa, M., Kedia, G., Wicker, B., & Grezes, J. (2008). Cross-cultural validation of the empathy quotient in a French-speaking sample. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 53(7), 469–477.

Blacher, J., Kraemer, B., & Schalow, M. (2003). Asperger syndrome and high functioning autism: research concerns and emerging foci. Curr Opin Psychiatry, 16, 535–542.

Blair, R. J. R. (2005). Responding to the emotions of others: Dissociating forms of empathy through the study of typical and psychiatric populations. Consciousness and Cognition, vol. 14, 698–718.

Bora, E. & Baysal, E. (2009). Psychometric features of Turkish version of empathy quotient in university students. Klinik Psikofarmokoloji Bülteni, vol. 19, 39-47.

Bryant, B. K. (1982). An index of empathy for children and adolescents. Child development, 413-425.

Büyüköztürk, Ş. (2009). Sosyal bilimler için veri analizi el kitabı: İstatistik, araştırma deseni, SPSS uygulamaları ve yorum (9. baskı). Ankara: Pegem Yayınları.

Büyüköztürk, Ş., Kılıç Çakmak, E., Akgün, Ö. E., Karadeniz, Ş. ve Demirel, F. (2014). Bilimsel Araştırma Yöntemleri (18. Baskı). Pegem Akademi: Ankara.

Carr, M. B. & Lutjemeier, J. A. (2005). The relation of facial affect recognition and empathy to delinquency in youth offenders. Adolescence, 40 (159), 601-619.

Carroll, J. M. & Chiew, K. Y. (2006). Sex and discipline differences in empathising, systemising and autistic symptomatology: Evidence from a student population. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36, 949–957. doi:10.1007/s10803-006-0127-9.

Chakrabarti, S. & Fombonne, E. (2005) Pervasive Developmental Disorders in Pre-school aged children. Confirmation of High Prevalence. A. J. Psychiat. 162, 1133-1144.

Chakrabarti, B. & Baron-Cohen, S. (2006). Empathizing: neurocognitive developmental mechanisms and individual differences. Progress Brain Res.,156, 403-417.

Davis, M. H. (1983). Measuring individual differences in empathy: Evidence for a multidimensional approach. J Pers Soc Psychol 1983, 44, 113-126.

Dyck, M. J., Ferguson, K. & Shochet, I. M. (2001). “Do autism spectrum disorders differ from each other and from non-spectrum disorders on emotion recognition tests” European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, vol.10, pp.105- 116.

Dzıobek, I., Rogers, K., Fleck,. Bahnemann, M., Heekeren, H. R., Wolf, O.T., & Convıt, A. (2008). Dissociation of cognitive and emotional empathy in adults with Asperger Syndrome using the multifaceted empathy test (MET). Journal of Autism Developmental Disorders, 38, 464–473.

Falcone, E. M. O., Ferreira, M. C., Luz, R. C. M., Fernandes, C. S., Faria, C. A., D’Augustin, J. F., Pinho, V. D. (2008). Inventário de Empatia (IE): Desenvolvimento e validação de uma medida brasileira [Constrution of a Brazilia measure to evaluate empathy: The Empathy Inventory (EI)]. Avaliação Psicológica, 7, 321–334.

Girli, A. & Tekin, D. (2012). Investıgatıng empathy skıll levels of chıldren wıth autısm and typıcally developed children between the ages of 9-16. The Journal of Academic Social Science Studies, 5, 8, 603-614.

Goldstein, T. R., & Winner, E. (2012). Enhancing empathy and theory of mind. Journal of Cognition and Development, 13(1), 19–37.

Gouveia, V. V., Milfont, T. L., Gouveia, R. S., Neto, J. R., & Galvão, L. (2012). Brazilian- Portuguese Empathy Quotient: Evidences of its construct validity and reliability. The Spanish journal of psychology, 15(02), 777-782.

Golan, O., Baron-Cohen, S., Hill, J.J. & Golan, Y. (2006). The “Reading the Mind in Films” Task: Complex emotion regocnition in adults with and aithout autism spectrum conditions. Social Neuroscience, 1(2), 111-123.

Hambleton, R. K. (2005). Issues, designs, and technical guidelines for adapting tests into multiple languages and cultures. İçinde R. K. Hambleton, P. F. Merenda ve C. D. Spielberger (Ed.). Adapting educational and psychological tests for cross-cultural assessment. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Harari, H., Shamay-Tsoory, S., Ravid, M., & Levkovitz, Y. (2010). Double dissociation between cognitive and affective empathy in borderline personality disorder. Psychiatry Research, 175, 277–279.

Hess, K. L., Morrier, M. J., Heflin, L. J., Ivey, M. L. (2008). Autism treatment survey: Services received by children with autism spectrum disorder in public school classrooms. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38, 961-971.

Hu, L. ve Bentler, P. M. (1998). Fit indices in covariance structure modeling: Sensitivity to underparameterized model misspecification. Psychological Methods, 3, 424-453.

Howlin, P. (2008). Redressing the balance in autism research. Nature Clinical Practice Neurology, 4(8), 407-407.

Jones, A., Happe´, F., Gilbert, F., Burnett, S., & Viding, E. (2010). Feeling, caring, knowing: Different types of empathy deficit in boys with psychopathic tendencies and autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 51, 1188–1197.

Johnson, S. A., Fıllıter, J. H., & Murphy, R. R. (2009). “Discrepancies between self- and parent-perceptions of autistic traits and empathy in high functioning children and adolescents on the autism spectrum.” Journal of Autism Developmental Disorders, 39, 1706–1714.

Kimberley Rogers Æ Isabel Dziobek Æ Jason Hassenstab Æ Oliver T. Wolf Æ Antonio Convit/(2007). Who Cares? Revisiting Empathy in Asperger Syndrome. J Autism Dev Disordor,37:709–715.

Kleinhans, N., Akshoomoff, N. ve Delis, D. (2005). Executive functions in autism and asperger‟s disorder: flexibility, fluency and ınhibition. Developmental Neuropsychology, 27, 379–401.

Lai, M. C., Lombardo, M. V., Pasco, G., Ruigrok, A. N. V., Wheelwright, S. J., Sadek, S. A., Chakrabarti, B., MRC Aims Consortium, Baron-Cohen, S., (2011). A behavioral comparison of male and female adults with high functioning autism spectrum conditions.” PLoS One, vol.6, no.6, e20835, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0020835.

Lawrence, E. J., Shaw, P., Baker, D., Baron-Cohen, S., & David, S. (2004). Measuring empathy: Reliability and validity of the empathy quotient. Psychological Medicine, 34, 911–924.

Lawson, J., Baron-Cohen, S., & Wheelwright, S. (2004). Empathising and systemising in adults with and without Asperger Syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34, 301–310.

Liu, D., Wellman, H., Tardif, T. & Sabbagh, M. (2008). “Theory of mind development in Chinese children: a meta-analysis of false belief understanding across cultures and languages.” Developmental Psychology, vol. 44, 523-531.

Mazza, M., Pino, M. C., Mariano, M., Tempesta, D., Ferrara, M., De Berardis, D., et al. (2014). Affective and cognitive empathy in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8, 791.

Minio-Paluello, M. V. Lombardo, B. Chakrabarti, S. Wheelwrigth, & S. Baron-Cohen, (2009). “Response to Smith’s letter to the editor ‘emotional empathy in autism spectrum conditions: weak, intact, or heightened?’”, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 39, 1749–1754.

Muncer, S. J., & Ling, J. (2006). Psychometric analysis of the empathy quotient (EQ) scale. Personality and Individual differences, 40(6), 1111-1119.

Pallant, J. (2001). SPSS survival manual: a step by step to data analysis using SPSS. Australia: Allen & Unwin.

Preti, A., Vellante, M., Baron-Cohen, S., Zucca, G., Petretto, D. R., & Masala, C. (2011). The empathy quotient: A cross-cultural comparison of the Italian version. Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 16(1), 50–70.

Rogers, K., Dzıobek, I., Hassenstab, J., Wolf, O. T. & Convıt, A. (2007). “Who cares? Revisiting empathy in Asperger syndrome.” Journal of Autism Developmental Disorder, 37, 4, 709-715.

Rueda, P., Fernández-Berrocal, P. & Baron-Cohen, S. (2015). Dissociation between cognitive and affective empathy in youth with Asperger Syndrome, European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 12:1, 85-98, DOI: 10.1080/17405629.2014.950221

Schwenck, C., Mergenthaler, J., Keller, K., Zech, J., Salehi, S., Taurines, R., . . . Freitag, C. (2012). Empathy in children with autism and conduct disorder: Group-specific profiles and developmental aspects. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 53, 651–659.

Shamay-tsoory, S. G., Shur, S., Barcaı-goodman, L., Medlovıch, S., Hararı, H., Levkovıtz, Y. (2007). “Dissociation of cognitive from affective components of theory of mind in schizophrenia”, Psychiatry Research, 149(1-3), 11 –23.

Smith, A. (2006). Cognitive empathy and emotional empathy in human behavior and evolution. The Psychological Record, 56, 3–21.

Sucksmith, E., Allison, C., Baron-Cohen, S., Chakrabarti, B., & Hoekstra, R. A. (2013). Empathy and emotion recognition in people with autism, first-degree relatives, and controls. Neuropsychologia, 51(1), 98–105.

Travis, L., Sigman, M., & Ruskin, E. (2001). Links between social understanding and social behavior in verbally able children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31(2), 119–130.

Wakabayashi, A., Baron-Cohen, S., Uchiyama, T., Yoshida, Y., Kuroda, M., & Wheelwright, S. (2007). Empathizing and systemizing in adults with and without autism spectrum conditions: Cross-cultural stability. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37(10), 1823–1832.

Wheelwright, S., Baron-Cohen, S., Goldenfeld, N., Delaney, J., Fine, D., Smith, R. & Wakabayashi, A. (2006). Predicting Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) from Systemizing Quotient- Revised (SQ-R) and Empathy Quotient (EQ). Brain Research, 1079, 47–56.

Völlm, B. A. Taylor, A. N., Richardson, P. ve ark. (2005). Neuronal correlates of theory of mind and empathy:A functional magnetic resonance imaging study in a nonverbal task. NeuroImage; 29, 90 – 98.

Valdiney V. Gouveia, Taciano L. Milfont, Rildésia S. V. Gouveia, Julio Rique Neto, and Lilian Galvão (2012). Brazilian-Portuguese Empathy Quotient: Evidences of its Construct Validity and Reliability. The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Vol. 15, 2, 777-782 ISSN 1138-7416.

Yıldırım, A., & Şimşek, H. (2008). Sosyal Bilimlerde Nitel Araştırma Yöntemleri (6. Baskı). Ankara: Seçkin Yayıncılık.

Downloads

Published

2017-03-24

How to Cite

Girli, A., Karadağ, F., & Karabey, B. (2017). Empathising and systematising in children with and without autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Human Sciences, 14(1), 457–472. Retrieved from https://j-humansciences.com/ojs/index.php/IJHS/article/view/4242

Issue

Section

Special Education