Empathy Quotient

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Learning largely applies more to the subconscious memorisation and application of information.
Acting is conscious.

I got 14 mainly because I like and empathize with animals.

I scored 9. That's enough for me.

Could have done worse, but i'm never sure, if I agree/disagreee slightly or definitely, so I go for slightly most of the time.
Another problem are those "other people tell you..."
Other people don't tell me such things, since:
1) I have not much contacts to other people, so they can't tell me anything.
2) Those people I have contact with, know quite well, that I don't care about their opinions of my psychological setup, so they don't talk about it after getting answers like "I don't care about psychology on a bored housewife level"

So what to answer for a question like "Other people often say that I am insensitive, though I don't always see why.". Ok, I'm insensitive and often don't see the point of not telling other people facts. But nobody tells me that...

I have to admit I don't understand you.

A child actively imitates language to express itself and understand what is said to it. And with time, this process should automatised and freely usable.

I experience the same process with such details that the test says are part of empathy.

To notice when somebody is bored, to look someone in the eyes are things that I can easily do once I realise they exist. I do it without having to think about it every time, I just react that way automatically. I do not act and pretend, but I learn.

I scored 16.

For some of us, these things are not natural and will never be natural...like Ishmael, I can only express empathy by consciously acting and imitating how I see others do it.



However, I disagree with Ishmael that empathy has no value. I don't socialize either, but I do manage 32 people at work. Most of them are not Aspies (although they are all techies, so I do have a few ) Showing empathy (even if I have to act to do it) helps me to be a better leader and creates an atmosphere that motivates my non-Aspie staff to do their best work.

One of my employees lost his mother last week. Left to myself, I wouldn't think twice about it, but when I heard it, I wrote a reminder to myself to check in with him, express sympathy and see how he is doing. It was awkward and unnatural for me - basically felt like I was playing a role. But I did it anyway because it means something to him. That effort pays off in happier team members, lower turnover, and better productivity.

Also, being able to read people's emotional state better would be invaluable for me at work...when I am negotiating with someone or trying to resolve a conflict, it is a definite handicap for me, not to be able to tell what is going on with that person or why they are reacting the way they are. I have to use logical deduction to try to figure these things out, instead of having intuitive insight into people's motivations and behaviors.

Is this an online empathy test? If so, can someone post a link?

I scored 12 =Þ

I know, I wanted to say that it's all very individual and thus can be different for each of us.

I certainly cannot adopt some things subconsciously that others can or have, but at the same learn different things easily that others will need a lot more time to perceive and analyse no matter how much training they have.

Just click on the "EQ" abbreviation in the first post (it's an offsite link). It's by the same ASD specialist dude who did the "Autism Quotient" test.

To no one,

A lack of empathy [to various degrees] is something that's common amongst those with AS (this doesn't mean one lacks care, compassion, sympathy, etcetera). The greater the deficits in such, the greater the problems with relating to, and "feeling" the emotions of others (putting yourself in someone else's shoes is the saying).

Score = 15
Lower than I thought

38
A bit low, but still in the average range.
Okay.

All right, now I wonder if people way way above misunderstood what I meant.

I learnt what to look for to try to see changes in behaviour. It doesn't mean I have non-autistic empathy. Changes mean patterns and patterns are something my mind works with naturally/only.

Where does a person look? What do their limbs do? Combined with how people use language, that's so immensely informative! I perceive a lot more than other people anyway. Maybe that is the answer. Patterns in language alone were never enough to identify people's possible thoughts and feelings accurately. Certain non-verbal gestures finally complete the picture.

I don't work on non-autistic empathy type, as I said. They seem to do it totally different from me. I see people pulling funny faces and have no idea if that face itself means a smile is going to come right now or a mental breakdown or a lot of screaming. Some professional say many autistic children can recognise extreme emotions, I did not. I'm still busy trying not to forget that others actually have feelings and thoughts to begin with.

But I know a person will cry because the change in their behaviour signals it... but non-autistic people do not expect crying. There's nothing they could read this from yet. But they'll notice when exactly the person is going to cry. I, on the other hand, do not notice whether a person in that situation is going to start crying in 10 seconds or 2 minutes.

My score is 29, which is still below average.

Your score: 8
0 - 32 = low (most people with Asperger Syndrome or high-functioning autism score about 20)
33 - 52 = average (most women score about 47 and most men score about 42)
53 - 63 is above average
64 - 80 is very high
80 is maximum

Slightly depressing.

On the subject of empathy, I don't entirely understand what it is. I thought that empathy was one's capacity to predict what another person will do or how he will react depending on any combination of variables. That can be learned through game theory and studies of behavioral psychology.

Then I spoke with my mother, who claimed that empathy is actually the ability to feel what another person is feeling and relate to them emotionally and intuitively in order to make connections between people. Well, so much for my understanding of the concept.

18. I'm quite upset, but the fact of that matter is that I have a very every-man-for-himself approach to socialising.

Me three. I thought it would be higher.