Autism, empathy and psychopaths

Autistic people have been thought to all lack empathy by both science and society for decades. But after receiving an extremely low empathy score as part of a recent autism assessment, science journalist Sue Nelson refused to accept its implications and decided to confront these damaging stereotypes and question the experts who work in this area.

Sue’s investigation reveals how the science around empathy is evolving and proving both surprising and more complex than previously thought. Instead of the majority of autistic people having low to no empathy, a trait commonly associated with psychopaths, many autistic people have been shown to have heightened empathy for others.

Guests include Prof Simon Baron-Cohen, a pioneer in the field who originated the EQ (Empathy Quotient) test widely used in autism assessments, and a team of autistic researchers investigating the newly recognised phenomenon of autistic ‘hyper-empathy’. She also visits a laboratory where highly sensitive electrodes on her facial muscles reveal the workings of Sue’s unconscious mind in response to the emotions of others. Empathy for autistic people is often experienced but not seen via their expressions.

Presenter/writer: Sue Nelson
Producer: Anne McNaught

(Photo: Professor Chakrabarti places the electrodes on Sue's face to monitor activity in her smile or frown muscles as she watched short videos of other people displaying either happiness or anger)