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Impairment of affective and cognitive empathy in high functioning autism is mediated by alterations in emotional reactivity

Authors :
Ann-Christin S. Kimmig
Lina Burger
Marina Schall
Birgit Derntl
Dirk Wildgruber
Source :
Scientific Reports, Vol 14, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2024)
Publication Year :
2024
Publisher :
Nature Portfolio, 2024.

Abstract

Abstract Empathy impairments are considered a key aspect of autism-spectrum disorders (ASD). Previous research consistently shows reduced cognitive empathy, but findings on affective empathy vary, possibly due to experimental design variations (e.g., stimulus modality, social distance) and individual psychological factors (e.g., perceptual abilities, emotional reactivity). This study aims to clarify deficits in affective and cognitive empathy in ASD by addressing these contributing factors. Empathy was examined in 34 autistic individuals and 33 typically developed controls (TDCs) through the Textual Empathy Test (TET). The TET was developed to assess emotional responses when imagining oneself (emotional reactivity) as compared to a target person (friend, stranger) in emotional situations presented via short verbal descriptions. Participants rated emotional states of the target person (cognitive empathy) as well as their own emotional responses when imagining the target person in that situation (affective empathy). Ratings were interpreted relative to normative mean values through standardized regression coefficients. Results showed that high-functioning autism was associated with lower cognitive and affective empathy irrespective of social distance as well as with decreased emotional reactivity compared to controls. Moreover, emotional reactivity mediated the impact of ASD on both empathic components. In summary, altered emotional reactivity may underlie impaired empathy in autistic individuals.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20452322
Volume :
14
Issue :
1
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Scientific Reports
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.914280dbf286497f93a4b52983c53823
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-71825-1