Abstract
Impaired motor cognition may underpin empathy problems in autism. The actions and feelings questionnaire (AFQ), designed to examine individual differences in motor cognition, was completed fully by 1391 adults, of whom 326 reported a diagnosis of an autism spectrum condition (ASC). A confirmatory factor analysis supported a 3 factor model. The AFQ total and ‘feelings’ subscale scores correlated highly with the EQ and ROC curves were similar. Our findings suggest that individual differences in empathic traits are heavily accounted for by variance in mechanisms that serve sensorimotor learning (motor cognition) in relation to emotional states. The AFQ is a self-report tool that provides a valid indicator of autism status in adult populations.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 3418-3430 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders |
Volume | 47 |
Issue number | 11 |
Early online date | 28 Jul 2017 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Nov 2017 |
Bibliographical note
Open access via Springer Compact AgreementWe are grateful to Simon Baron-Cohen and Paula Smith of the Cambridge Autism Centre for the use of the ARC database in distributing the questionnaire, to all participants for completing it, to Eilidh Farquar for special efforts in distributing the link and to Gemma Matthews for advice on using AMOS 23. JHGW is supported by the Northwood Trust.
Keywords
- autism
- empathy
- motor cognition
- sensorimotor
- questionnaire
- confirmatory factor analysis