RESEARCH ARTICLE
Empathic Embarrassment Accuracy in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Noga Adler,
Jonathan Dvash,
Simone G. Shamay-Tsoory,
Corresponding Author
Noga Adler
Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
Cognitive Neurology Unit, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel
Address for correspondence and reprints: Noga Adler, Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, 199 Aba Khoushy Ave., Haifa 31905, Israel. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorJonathan Dvash
School of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
Search for more papers by this authorSimone G. Shamay-Tsoory
Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
Search for more papers by this authorNoga Adler,
Jonathan Dvash,
Simone G. Shamay-Tsoory,
Corresponding Author
Noga Adler
Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
Cognitive Neurology Unit, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel
Address for correspondence and reprints: Noga Adler, Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, 199 Aba Khoushy Ave., Haifa 31905, Israel. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorJonathan Dvash
School of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
Search for more papers by this authorSimone G. Shamay-Tsoory
Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
Search for more papers by this authorThis research was supported by a grant to the first author—Grant sponsor: Israel Foundations Trustees; Grant number: PhD Grant 29/59.
Abstract
Empathic accuracy refers to the ability of perceivers to accurately share the emotions of protagonists. Using a novel task assessing embarrassment, the current study sought to compare levels of empathic embarrassment accuracy among individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) with those of matched controls. To assess empathic embarrassment accuracy, we compared the level of embarrassment experienced by protagonists to the embarrassment felt by participants while watching the protagonists. The results show that while the embarrassment ratings of participants and protagonists were highly matched among controls, individuals with ASD failed to exhibit this matching effect. Furthermore, individuals with ASD rated their embarrassment higher than controls when viewing themselves and protagonists on film, but not while performing the task itself. These findings suggest that individuals with ASD tend to have higher ratings of empathic embarrassment, perhaps due to difficulties in emotion regulation that may account for their impaired empathic accuracy and aberrant social behavior. Autism Res 2015, 8: 241–249. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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