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Cited by 4,093Autism Spectrum Disorder ResearchAction Observation and SynchronizationSocial Robot Interaction and HRI

The empathy quotient: an investigation of adults with asperger syndrome or high functioning autism, and normal sex differences

Baron-Cohen, Simon, Wheelwright, Sally·2004·Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
DOI 10.1023/b:jadd.0000022607.19833.00
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Abstract

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.

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58 of 58 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Males and females have been shown to use different strategies in emotion paradigms.

    “males and females have been shown to use different strategies in emotion paradigms”

    From Anterior insular cortex and emotional awareness (2013) · cites this paper as Baron-Cohen and Wheelwright, 2004

  • Self-reported evaluations of social interaction capabilities have been used, for example, the empathy quotient questionnaire.

    “Beyond emotion recognition tests, self-reported evaluations of social interaction capabilities have also been used; for example, the empathy quotient questionnaire [10].”

    From A Taxonomy of Social Errors in Human-Robot Interaction (2021) · cites this paper as [10]

  • Commonly used empathy assessments include the Empathy Quotient, the Empathy Scale, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and the Questionnaire Measure of Emotional Empathy.

    “Commonly used empathy assessments include the Empathy Quotient [10], the Empathy Scale [76], the Interpersonal Reactivity Index [31], and the Questionnaire Measure of Emotional Empathy [113].”

    From A Taxonomy of Social Errors in Human-Robot Interaction (2021) · cites this paper as [10]

  • The stereotype that women are the more emotional sex and are better at dealing with their own and others' emotions is prevalent in the Western world.

    “As noted above, the stereotype that women are the more emotional sex, but also the belief that women are better in dealing with their own and others’ emotions is a prevalent stereotype in the Western world [12].”

    From Gender differences in emotion perception and self-reported emotional intelligence: A test of the emotion sensitivity hypothesis (2018) · cites this paper as [12]

  • Empathy plays a central role in successful interpersonal engagement by serving as a means for establishing rapport and building a basis for trustworthy communication.

    “Empathy plays a central role in successful interpersonal engagement by serving as a means for establishing rapport and building a basis for trustworthy communication (Baron-Cohen and Wheelwright, 2004).”

    From Social functioning in major depressive disorder (2016) · cites this paper as Baron-Cohen and Wheelwright, 2004

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Authors
Baron-Cohen, S., & Wheelwright, S.
Affiliations
University of Cambridge (GB)
ORCID
Wheelwright, Sally
Venue
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2004-04
Volume
34
Issue
2
Pages
163-175
ISSN
  • 0162-3257 (ISSN-L)
  • 1573-3432
DOI
10.1023/b:jadd.0000022607.19833.00
OpenAlex
W1992745256
Semantic Scholar
b694cb24ec28fdc5fe07c857f8ec377169ece0ab
Cited by
4,093
References
58
Citations by year
2026: 179 · 2025: 228 · 2024: 222 · 2023: 251 · 2022: 268 · 2021: 303 · 2020: 327 · 2019: 271 · 2018: 267 · 2017: 245 · 2016: 232 · 2015: 243 · 2014: 198 · 2013: 213 · 2012: 171
FWCI
20.68
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-16-CE28-0004)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Action Observation and Synchronization
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Social Robot Interaction and HRI
Keywords
Empathy Quotient, empathy, Asperger syndrome, high-functioning autism, sex differences, empathy deficits, self-report questionnaire, theory of mind, social cognition, adults
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Autistic Disorder, Empathy, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Psychological Tests, Psychological Theory, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sex Characteristics, Asperger Syndrome

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