The empathy quotient: An investigation of adults with Asperger syndrome or high functioning autism, and normal sex differences
The empathy quotient: An investigation of adults with Asperger syndrome or high functioning autism, and normal sex differences
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DOI：
10.1023/b:jadd.0000022607.19833.00
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发表时间：
2004-04-01
影响因子：
3.9
通讯作者：
Wheelwright, S
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Baron-Cohen, S;Wheelwright, S
移情是正常社会功能的重要组成部分，但在这一领域，衡量个体差异的工具非常少。在本文中，我们回顾了移情的心理学理论及其测量。以前声称衡量这一点的工具并不总是纯粹关注同理心。我们报告了一种新的自我报告问卷，移情商(EQ)，用于智力正常的成年人。它包含40个移情条目和20个填充/控制条目。在每个共情项目上，一个人可以得2分、1分或0分，因此情商的最高分为80分，最低分为0分。在研究1中，我们采用情商测验对90名患有阿斯伯格综合症(AS)或高功能自闭症(HFA)的成年人(男性65名，女性25名)进行测试，临床报告他们有同理心方面的困难。AS/HFA成人情商得分显著低于90例(男性65例，女性25例)年龄匹配的对照组。在患有AS/HFA的成年人中，81%的人得分等于或低于30分(满分80分)，而对照组只有12%。在研究2中，我们对来自普通人群的n=197名成年人进行了一项研究，以测试之前报道的性别差异(女性优势)在共情方面的差异。这证实了女性的得分明显高于男性。情商显示，在一般人群中，移情能力存在性别差异，在AS/HFA中，移情能力不足。
Empathy is an essential part of normal social functioning, yet there are precious few instruments for measuring individual differences in this domain. In this article we review psychological theories of empathy and its measurement. Previous instruments that purport to measure this have not always focused purely on empathy. We report a new self-report questionnaire, the Empathy Quotient (EQ), for use with adults of normal intelligence. It contains 40 empathy items and 20 filler/control items. On each empathy item a person can score 2, 1, or 0, so the EQ has a maximum score of 80 and a minimum of zero. In Study 1 we employed the EQ with n = 90 adults (65 males, 25 females) with Asperger Syndrome (AS) or high-functioning autism (HFA), who are reported clinically to have difficulties in empathy. The adults with AS/HFA scored significantly lower on the EQ than n = 90 (65 males, 25 females) age-matched controls. Of the adults with AS/HFA, 81% scored equal to or fewer than 30 points out of 80, compared with only 12% of controls. In Study 2 we carried out a study of n = 197 adults from a general population, to test for previously reported sex differences (female superiority) in empathy. This confirmed that women scored significantly higher than men. The EQ reveals both a sex difference in empathy in the general population and an empathy deficit in AS/HFA.