Empathy Quotient Test

[inkfingers]

So, if you go on www.aspietests.org, you'll see an empathy test. I've taken the test before, earlier this year (or possibly last year, I don't remember) and I got a score of 12. To give you some context, the average score for female NTs is 42.7, and for females with ASD, 23.7. The average score for males with ASD is 21.4. So, I have a very low empathy score.

Just today, I retook the test (just for fun) and got a score of 9. I answered the questions honestly, so does this mean I am losing empathy? Is it bad to have so little empathy? I care about people, but not in the way neurotypicals do. I care about people in terms of right and wrong, good and bad, not out of any emotional connection. For example, if a drunk driver hurt someone in a car crash, I'd care because it was wrong of that person to go driving while intoxicated. I would care for the hurt person because I am supposed to want them to get well, and it is morally right to help people. But I don't have any big emotional connections or reactions to things like this (unless it was a close family member). I just care because is the right thing to do. Is this bad? Should I be feeling something?

 

[SusanLR]

@inkfingers the empathy issue is a diverse spectrum the same as all of the other things they test
for with ASD. I know it is usually an accepted statement that the ND have low empathy scores, yet
many have great empathy skills. Remember there are three types of empathy also and they are all
checked in the test.
Empathy comes from neuro pathways which may or may not function very well.
I am one with a very low score also. Tested twice I was an 11 then a 9.
One of the threads here was about empathy scores and I said I guess I'm the winner with a 9.

I don't think we are losing empathy. Probably just the mood at the time you take it. 11 or 9 what's the
difference? It is just a low score.
My emotional reactions and connections sound the same as you describe.
There's no shoulds or coulds, it's just how our brains are wired.
We understand right and wrong.

 

[Suzanne]

Not even "professionals" know what empathy means. It is always mixed up with sympathy and I tell you this, from experience that NT are fantastic at sympathy and lousy with empathy and the opposite applies with most of us.

I have had NT's tell me that they consider me empathetic, because I can put myself in the "shoes" of another and even if at first can't, I can make myself think what they must think.

Sympathy is very short term and why I am lousy with it. Oh, my heart goes out to you and moves away and doesn't even think about it again.

Empathy is long term. My heart goes out to you. What can I do? Do you want to talk about it? And then, send a little message some time again, to tell them they are thinking of them.

I do recognise that not all aspies can be empathetic, but I am one who can be.

 

[All-Rounder]

Empathy does not mean you don't care, just that you cant express it towards ppl. With autism its common to struggle with this. EQ vs SQ is a way of telling if you have autism. You think more in systemizing terms rather than empathize [but doesn't mean you dont systemize a lot vs empathize pretty well, right? idk] but you can only try. See you sometimes score higher which means its a choice people will prefer the answer you gave if they don't know what youre struggling with.

What you said about it shows you care. I have eq 33 but i feel the same as you do. I sympathize physically deeply sometimes with people. Accidents on the news i dont like but not excessively like for a family member ever.

 

[All-Rounder]

'Empathy and sympathy are not mutually exclusive, nor are they always felt in tandem. For example, people who lose a loved one can receive sympathy from many, but only those who have experienced a similar loss are able to empathize truly.

A case where there might be sympathy, but no empathy, could include someone who files for bankruptcy. Most people who care about that person would feel sympathetic to their situation — and maybe pity them, a feeling sometimes closely related to sympathy — but relatively few would be capable of empathizing, as only a minority of people ever go through the experience of filing for bankruptcy themselves'

Empathy vs Sympathy - Difference and Comparison | Diffen

'Of the two, empathy is a deeper feeling, but sympathy can be just as honest and heartfelt.'

 

[BraidedPony]

I just took the Empathy Quotient test and scored 38.
Strange because I don't know how people feel, but if I do know, I care too much.

 

[Bolletje]

I have a score of 41, which sounds about right.

 

[xudo]

I have a score of 41, which sounds about right.

I had a score of 6 when I did it for my assessment. Also sounds about right.

 

[Tom]

I feel that sympathizing with insects, especially rolly-polly bugs makes me a good enough person.

 

[All-Rounder]

Is Autism Really an "Empathy Disorder"?

"And it may be that for people on the autistic spectrum, this equation is reversed: They may not be good at shallow empathy, but may be not at all impaired in terms of deep empathy."


So I'm guessing EQ is more of a shallow empathy test, rather than a deep empathy. Alexithymia may affect the result much more.