Empathy in High-Functioning Autism

Background: Hobson, Harris, García-Pérez and Hobson (in press) reported that mixed ability children with autism looked less at, and showed less concern for, someone expected to experience a negative feeling. Sigman, Kasari, Kwon and Yirmiya (1992) found that children with autism were less responsive to expressed distress, fear and discomfort, and Dissanayake, Sigman and Kasari (1996) found a similarly lowered level of responsiveness to expressed distress and anger among children with high-functioning autism (HFA). Children with autism have also been found to show fewer prosocial behaviours compared to matched controls (Travis, Sigman & Ruskin, 2001).

Objectives: The aim in the study reported here was to investigate how children with HFA respond to 1. expressed distress and 2. to someone expected to experience distress. The role of self-understanding in understanding and responding to others was also investigated.

Methods: Twelve with HFA and twelve typically developing (TD) children were tested. To test responsiveness to someone expected to experience distress, each child completed a drawing task with two experimenters (E1 and E2) in which the child, E1 and E2 each drew a picture. At the end of this task, E1 tore up the drawing done by E2. Groups were compared on the degree of concern expressed for E2. To test responsiveness to expressed distress, E1 pretended to misplace her watch and feigned distress before searching for it. Groups were compared for degree of concern and prosocial behaviours. In addition, children were asked to describe and explain their responses to each scenario while viewing video of these tasks, to gain their own perspective of their social understanding and responsiveness. 

Results: The results thus far are congruent with the pattern of results obtained in previous research, as children with HFA showed less concern towards others who express distress and who might be expected to experience distress. Scores on each of these tasks will be interpreted in light of children’s self-understanding measured using the Self-Perception Profile for Children (Harter, 1985), understanding of themselves in relation to important others and children’s own descriptions and explanations of their responses to these tasks (data not yet available).

Conclusions: Children with HFA show a lowered level of responsiveness to expressed emotion and to someone expected to experience distress even though they appear to be aware of the situations which elicit negative emotions. Children’s own descriptions and explanations of their responses to these tasks provide further insight into their responses than have heretofore been described.