Individual differences in empathizing and systemizing

박은혜; 김혜리; 조경자; 구재선

doi:10.18205/kpa.2009.14.2.004

Article Contents

Prev Next

e-Submission

Vol.14 No.2

Citation
Share

Individual differences in empathizing and systemizing

The Korean Journal of Woman Psychology / The Korean Journal of Woman Psychology, (P)1229-0726;

2009, v.14 no.2, pp.269-286

https://doi.org/10.18205/kpa.2009.14.2.004

& (2009). Individual differences in empathizing and systemizing. The Korean Journal of Woman Psychology, 14(2), 269-286, https://doi.org/10.18205/kpa.2009.14.2.004

copy

Abstract

According to Baron-Cohen(2003), individual differences between male and female, and between science and humanities students could be explained by two psychological dimensions: empathizing and systemizing. Systemizing is the drive to analyse systems or construct systems, and held to be our most powerful way of understanding and predicting the law-governed inanimate universe. Empathizing is the drive to identify mental states and respond to these with an appropriate emotion, and held to be our most powerful way of understanding and predicting social world. In this study, sex and major differences of empathizing and systemizing were tested with Korean university students. 374 university students in the sciences major and the humanities major were given self-report questionnaires assessing the systemizing and empathizing tendencies: SQ and EQ. There were significant sex and major differences on the empathizing quotient and systemizing quotient. On the EQ, females scored significantly higher than males, but on the SQ, males and science students scored significantly higher than females and humanities students. In addition, more females and humanities students were categorized as the “empathizer” in whom empathizing is stronger than systemizing, but more males and science students were as the “systemizer” in whom systemizing is stronger than empathizing. there The results indicated that males and the individuals in the sciences were more systemizing-driven than emapthizing-driven, whereas females and the individuals in humanities were emapthizing-driven than systemizing-driven. In addition, the systemizers scored significantly higher than the empatizer on the AQ, suggesting that people with high systemizing have higher levels of autistic features.

keywords: 성차, 공감하기, 체계화하기, 인지유형, 전공 분야, sex differences, empathizing, systemizing, cognitive style, major area

Reference

Ahlgren, A., & Johnson, D. W. (1979). Sex differences in cooperative and competitive attitudes from the 2nd to the 12th grades. Developmental Psychology, 15, 45-49.

Astur, R. S., Ortiz, M. L., & Sutherland, R. J. (1998). A characterization of performance by men and women in a virtual Morris water task: A large and reliable sex difference. Behavioral Brain Research, 93, 185-190.

Barenbaum, S. A., & Snyder, E. (1995). Early hormonal influences on childhood sex-typed activity and playmate preferences: Implications for the development of sexual orientation. Developmental Psychology, 31, 31-42.

Baron-Cohen, S. (2002). The extreme-male-brain theory of autism. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 6, 248-254.

Baron-Cohen, S. (2003). Essential difference: male and female brain and the truth about autism. 김혜리, 이승복 역 (2007) 그 남자의 뇌, 그 여자의 뇌. 서울: 바다출판사.

Baron-Cohen, (2005). The empathizing system: a revision of the 1994 model of the mindreading system. In B. J. Ellis & D. F. Bjorklund (Eds.), Origins of the social mind, 468-492. New york, Guilford.

Baron-Cohen, (2006). Empathizing: neurocognitive developmental mechanism and individual differences. In Anders, S, Ende, G, Junghofer, M, Kissler, J & D, (Eds.). Understanding emotion: Progress in Brain Research, Elsevier.

Baron-Cohen, S., Richler, J., Bisarya, D., Gurunathan, N., & Wheelwright, S. (2003), The systemizing quotient: an investigation of adults with Asperger syndrome of high-functioning autism, and normal sex differences. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B, 358, 361-374.

Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Skinner, R., Martin, J., & Clubley, E. (2001). The autism-spectrum quotient(AQ): evidence from Asperger syndrome/High-functioning autism, males and females, scientists and mathmaticians. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31, 5-17.

10.

Baron-Cohen, S., & Wheelwright, S. (2004). The empathy quotient: an investigation of adults with Asperger syndrome of high-functioning autism, and normal sex differences. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34, 164-175.

11.

Billington, J., Baron-Cohen, S., & Wheelwright, S. (2007). Cognitive style predicts entry into physical sciences and humanities: Questionnaire and performance tests of empathy and systemizing. Learning and Individual Differences, 17, 260-268.

12.

Bosacki, S., & Astington, J. W. (1999). Theory of mind in preadolescence: Relations between social understanding and social competence. Social Development, 8, 237-255.

13.

Charlesworth, W. R. & Dzur, C. (1987). Gender comparisons of preschoolers' behavior and resource utilization in group problem-solving. Child Development, 58, 191-200.

14.

Connellan, J., Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Ba'tki, A., & Ahluwalia, J. (2001). Sex differences in human neonatal social perception. Infant Behavior and Development, 23, 113-118.

15.

Contreras, M. J., Colom, R., Shih, O. C., Alava, M. J., & Santacreu, J. (2001). Dynamic spatial performance: sex and educational differences. Personality and Individual Difference. 30, 117-126.

16.

Focquaert, F., Steven, M. S., Wolford, G. L., Colden, A., & Gazzaniga, M. S.(2007). Empathizing and systemizing cognitive traits in the sciences and humanities. Personality and Individual Differences, 43, 619-625.

17.

Geary, D. C., Saults, S. J., Liu, F., & Hoard, M. K. (2000). Sex difference in spatial cognition, computational fluency, and arithmetical reasoning. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 77, 337-353.

18.

Halpern, D. (1992). Sex differences in cognitive ability. Hillsdale, NJ: Laurence Learlbaum Association.

19.

Happé, F. G. E. (1995). The role of age and verbal ability in the theory of mind task performance of subjects with autism. Child Development, 66, 843-855.

20.

Harnisch, D. L., Steinkamp, M. W., Tsai, S. L., & Walberg, H. J. (1986). Cross-national differences in mathematics attitude and achievement among seventeen-year-olds. International Journal of Educational Development, 6, 233-244.

21.

Hines, M., & Kaufman, F. R. (1994). Androgen and the development of human sex-typical behavior: Rough-and-Tumble play and sex of preferred playmates in children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia(CAH). Child Development, 4, 1042-1053.

22.

Hyde, J., & Linn, M. (1988). Gender differences in verbal ability: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 104, 53-59.

23.

Kalichman, S. (1989). The effects of stimulus context on paper and pencil spatial task performance. Journal of General Psychology, 116, 133-139.

24.

Kanner, L. (1943). Autistic disturbance of affective contact, Nervous Child, 2, 217-50. Reprinted in L. Kanner, Childhood psychosis: Initial studies and new insights. Washington, DC: V. H. Winston, pp.1-43.

25.

Knickmeyer, R., Baron-Cohen, S., Hines, M., & Raggatt, P.(2004). Foetal testosterone, social relationships, and restricted interests in children. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 45, 1-13.

26.

Kimura, D. (2002). Men and Women display patterns of behavioral and cognitive differences that reflect varying hormonal influences on brain development. Scientific American, 12, 32-37.

27.

Knight, G. P., Fabes, R. A. & Higgins, D. A. (1989). Gender differences in the cooperative, competitive, and individualistic social values of children. Motivation and Emotion 13, 125-141.

28.

Lawrence, P. A. (2006). Men, women, and ghosts in science. PLoS Biology, 4, 13-15.

29.

Lummis, M., & Stevenson, H. W. (1990). Gender differences in beliefs and achivement: A cross-cultural study. Developmental psychology, 26, 254-263.

30.

Maccoby, E. (1999). The two sexes: growing up apart, coming together, Harvard University Press.

31.

Masters, M, & Sanders, B, (1993). Is the gender difference in mental rotation disappearing? Behaviour Genetics, 23, 337-341.

32.

Ounsted, C., & Taylor, D. (1972). Gender differences: Their ontogeny and significance. Churchhill, Livinstone.

33.

Stevenson, H. W., Lee, S. Yl, Chen, C., Lummis, M., Stigler, J., Fan, L., & Ge, F. (1990). Mathematics achievement of children in China and Inited States. Child Development, 61, 1053-1066.

34.

Wakabayashi, A., Baron-Cohen, S., Uchiyama, T., Yoshida, Y., Kuroda, M., & Wheelwright, S. (2007). Empathizing and systemizing in adults with and without autism spectrum condition: Cross-Cultural Stability. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37, 1823-1832.

35.

Wheelwright, S., Baron-Cohen, S., Goldenfeld, N., Delaney, J., Fine, D., Smith, R., Weil, L., & Wakabayashi, A. (2006). Predicting autism spectrum quotient(AQ) from the systemizing quotient-rivised(SQ-R) and empathy quotient (EQ). Brain Research, 1079(1), 47-56.

바로가기메뉴

Article Contents

Vol.14 No.2

Individual differences in empathizing and systemizing

Abstract

Reference

The Korean Journal of Woman Psychology