Empathy and Interest Towards an Autistic Person and the Effect of Disclosing the Diagnosis

This study investigates the effects of disclosing an autism diagnosis on non-autistic listeners’ empathy and social interest towards the autistic discloser. In Study 1, participants (non-autistic students in the social sciences/humanities [n = 99; 70% female]) watched a video of an autistic adult sharing an autobiographical story and reported how they believed the storyteller felt, following an introduction in which the storyteller did or did not disclose their diagnosis. Their evaluation of the storyteller’s emotions was compared to the storyteller’s own reports, resulting in an empathic accuracy measure. Participants reported how empathic they felt towards the storyteller and how socially interested they were in them. Studies 2 and 3 replicated the same procedure with STEM students (n = 96; 40% female), and with non-student adults (n = 76; 50% female) from diverse professional/occupational backgrounds, with an additional question about working together. In Study 1, participants in the self-disclosure condition demonstrated higher empathic accuracy, reported more empathy, and greater social interest in the storyteller. Study 2 showed a similar trend of higher empathy in the self-disclosure condition but no differences in social interest measures. Interest in working with the storyteller was higher in the self-disclosure condition. In Study 3, participants in the self-disclosure condition demonstrated higher empathy and greater interest in hearing another story and working with the storyteller. An individual’s self-disclosure of an autism diagnosis improved others’ ability to empathize with them and willingness to work with them. We discuss the complex effect of self-disclosure on social interest in an autistic person.