The autism-spectrum quotient (AQ): evidence from Asperger syndrome/high-functioning autism, males and females, scientists and mathematicians.
01 Feb 2001-Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (Kluwer Academic Publishers-Plenum Publishers)-Vol. 31, Iss: 1, pp 5-17
TL;DR: The Autism-Spectrum Quotient is a valuable instrument for rapidly quantifying where any given individual is situated on the continuum from autism to normality, and its potential for screening for autism spectrum conditions in adults of normal intelligence remains to be fully explored.
Abstract: Currently there are no brief, self-administered instruments for measuring the degree to which an adult with normal intelligence has the traits associated with the autistic spectrum. In this paper, we report on a new instrument to assess this: the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Individuals score in the range 0-50. Four groups of subjects were assessed: Group 1: 58 adults with Asperger syndrome (AS) or high-functioning autism (HFA); Group 2: 174 randomly selected controls. Group 3: 840 students in Cambridge University; and Group 4: 16 winners of the UK Mathematics Olympiad. The adults with AS/HFA had a mean AQ score of 35.8 (SD = 6.5), significantly higher than Group 2 controls (M = 16.4, SD = 6.3). 80% of the adults with AS/HFA scored 32+, versus 2% of controls. Among the controls, men scored slightly but significantly higher than women. No women scored extremely highly (AQ score 34+) whereas 4% of men did so. Twice as many men (40%) as women (21%) scored at intermediate levels (AQ score 20+). Among the AS/HFA group, male and female scores did not differ significantly. The students in Cambridge University did not differ from the randomly selected control group, but scientists (including mathematicians) scored significantly higher than both humanities and social sciences students, confirming an earlier study that autistic conditions are associated with scientific skills. Within the sciences, mathematicians scored highest. This was replicated in Group 4, the Mathematics Olympiad winners scoring significantly higher than the male Cambridge humanities students. 6% of the student sample scored 32+ on the AQ. On interview, 11 out of 11 of these met three or more DSM-IV criteria for AS/HFA, and all were studying sciences/mathematics, and 7 of the 11 met threshold on these criteria. Test-retest and interrater reliability of the AQ was good. The AQ is thus a valuable instrument for rapidly quantifying where any given individual is situated on the continuum from autism to normality. Its potential for screening for autism spectrum conditions in adults of normal intelligence remains to be fully explored.
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TL;DR: The Revised Eyes Test has improved power to detect subtle individual differences in social sensitivity and was inversely correlated with the Autism Spectrum Quotient (the AQ), a measure of autistic traits in adults of normal intelligence.
Abstract: In 1997 in this Journal we published the ‘‘Reading the Mind in the Eyes’’ Test, as a measure of adult ‘‘mentalising’’. Whilst that test succeeded in discriminating a group of adults with Asperger syndrome (AS) or high-functioning autism (HFA) from controls, it suered from several psychometric problems. In this paper these limitations are rectified by revising the test. The Revised Eyes Test was administered to a group of adults with AS or HFA (N fl 15) and again discriminated these from a large number of normal controls (N fl 239) drawn from dierent samples. In both the clinical and control groups the Eyes Test was inversely correlated with the Autism Spectrum Quotient (the AQ), a measure of autistic traits in adults of normal intelligence. The Revised Eyes Test has improved power to detect subtle individual dierences in social sensitivity.
4,858 citations
TL;DR: The EQ reveals both a sex difference in empathy in the general population and an empathy deficit in Asperger Syndrome or high-functioning autism adults, who are reported clinically to have difficulties in empathy.
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.
3,430 citations
Cites background from "The autism-spectrum quotient (AQ): ..."
...In the studies reported below, we had four aims: to test whether adults with high-functioning autism (HFA) or Asperger Syndrome (AS) score lower on the EQ (study 1); to test whether the EQ is inversely correlated with the AQ (Autism Spectrum Quotient) ( Baron-Cohen, Wheelwright, Skinner, Martin, & Clubley, 2001b ), as would be predicted if autism/AS is an empathy disorder (study 1)—the AQ is a 50-point self-report scale for use by adults ......
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TL;DR: It is suggested that two neglected dimensions for understanding human sex differences are 'empathising' and 'systemising', which can be considered as an extreme of the normal male profile of autism.
1,833 citations
TL;DR: The data indicate that the social deficits characteristic of autism spectrum disorders are common, and it may be arbitrary where cutoffs are made between research designations of being "affected" vs "unaffected" with a pervasive developmental disorder.
Abstract: Background Recent research has indicated that autism is not a discrete disorder and that family members of autistic probands have an increased likelihood of exhibiting autistic symptoms with a wide range of severity, often below the threshold for a diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder. Objective To examine the distribution and genetic structure of autistic traits in the general population using a newly established quantitative measure of autistic traits, the Social Responsiveness Scale (formerly known as the Social Reciprocity Scale). Methods The sample consisted of 788 pairs of twins aged 7 to 15 years, randomly selected from the pool of participants in a large epidemiologic study (the Missouri Twin Study). One parent of each pair of twins completed the Social Responsiveness Scale on each child. The data were subjected to structural equation modeling. Results Autistic traits as measured by the Social Responsiveness Scale were continuously distributed and moderately to highly heritable. Levels of severity of autistic traits at or above the previously published mean for patients with pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified were found in 1.4% of boys and 0.3% of girls. Structural equation modeling revealed no evidence for the existence of sex-specific genetic influences, and suggested specific mechanisms by which females may be relatively protected from vulnerability to autistic traits. Conclusions These data indicate that the social deficits characteristic of autism spectrum disorders are common. Given the continuous distribution of these traits, it may be arbitrary where cutoffs are made between research designations of being "affected" vs "unaffected" with a pervasive developmental disorder. The genes influencing autistic traits appear to be the same for boys and girls. Lower prevalence (and severity) of autistic traits in girls may be the result of increased sensitivity to early environmental influences that operate to promote social competency.
1,165 citations
TL;DR: This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of past and current research into the perception of gaze behavior and its effect on the observer, including gaze-cueing paradigm that has been used to investigate the mechanisms of joint attention.
Abstract: During social interactions, people's eyes convey a wealth of information about their direction of attention and their emotional and mental states. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of past and current research into the perception of gaze behavior and its effect on the observer. This encompasses the perception of gaze direction and its influence on perception of the other person, as well as gaze-following behavior such as joint attention, in infant, adult, and clinical populations. Particular focus is given to the gaze-cueing paradigm that has been used to investigate the mechanisms of joint attention. The contribution of this paradigm has been significant and will likely continue to advance knowledge across diverse fields within psychology and neuroscience.
1,160 citations
References
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TL;DR: The revised interview has been reorganized, shortened, modified to be appropriate for children with mental ages from about 18 months into adulthood and linked to ICD-10 and DSM-IV criteria.
Abstract: Describes the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R), a revision of the Autism Diagnostic Interview, a semistructured, investigator-based interview for caregivers of children and adults for whom autism or pervasive developmental disorders is a possible diagnosis. The revised interview has been reorganized, shortened, modified to be appropriate for children with mental ages from about 18 months into adulthood and linked to ICD-10 and DSM-IV criteria. Psychometric data are presented for a sample of preschool children.
8,264 citations
"The autism-spectrum quotient (AQ): ..." refers methods in this paper
...7 Only DSM-IV criteria were applied, as for individuals of this age it was not appropriate to also use instruments such as the ADI-R or the ADOS (Lord et al., 1994)....
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...7 Only DSM-IV criteria were applied, as for individuals of this age it was not appropriate to also use instruments such as the ADI-R or the ADOS (Lord et al.,1994)....
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...Existing instruments, such as the ADI-R (Autism Diagnostic Interview) (Le Couteur et al.,1989; Lord, Rutter, & Le Couteur, 1994), the ADOS-G (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule) are fairly time-consuming to administer, and the CARS (Childhood Autism Rating Scale) which can be brief, is not self-administered (Schopler, Reichler, & Renner, 1986)....
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24 Feb 1995TL;DR: The four steps autism and mindblindness how brains read minds the language of the eyes mindreading - back to the future was discussed in evolutionary psychology and social chess mindreading as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Mindblindness and mindreading evolutionary psychology and social chess mindreading - nature's choice developing mindreading - the four steps autism and mindblindness how brains read minds the language of the eyes mindreading - back to the future.
4,255 citations
"The autism-spectrum quotient (AQ): ..." refers background in this paper
...Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Vol. 31, No. 1, 2001...
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...A related issue is whether a condition like AS or HFA might impair the subject’s ability to judge their own social or communicative behavior, due to subtle mind-reading problems (Baron-Cohen, 1995; Baron-Cohen, Jolliffe, Mortimore, & Robertson, 1997)....
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...There is also an assumption, still under debate, that autism and AS lie on a continuumof social-communication disability, with AS as the bridge between autism and normality (Baron-Cohen, 1995; Frith, 1991; Wing, 1981, 1988)....
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3,512 citations