• Welcome to Autism Forums, a friendly forum to discuss Aspergers Syndrome, Autism, High Functioning Autism and related conditions.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Private Member only forums for more serious discussions that you may wish to not have guests or search engines access to.
    • Your very own blog. Write about anything you like on your own individual blog.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon! Please also check us out @ https://www.twitter.com/aspiescentral

Reading body language - I thought I was good at this

leehart

leehart

Well-Known Member
V.I.P Member
Hi all, massive thanks for the links to websites and tests that can increase understanding in things. Today I took some of the ones on body language, voice tone and reading the movies. I came out low for understanding in all of them! I am finding that a bit of a surprise as I have always assumed myself very good at reading these things...although I have recently being challenging myself to consider that sometimes I get them wrong (mostly my very quick negative interpretations).

Has anyone else been surprised with results which maybe show a bit of lack of self awareness? Pondering what I do with that information.
 
leehart said:
Hi all, massive thanks for the links to websites and tests that can increase understanding in things. Today I took some of the ones on body language, voice tone and reading the movies. I came out low for understanding in all of them! I am finding that a bit of a surprise as I have always assumed myself very good at reading these things...although I have recently being challenging myself to consider that sometimes I get them wrong (mostly my very quick negative interpretations).

Has anyone else been surprised with results which maybe show a bit of lack of self awareness? Pondering what I do with that information.
Click to expand...
no but it could be different for women .
 
leehart said:
Not sure if this is a reflection of your own experience or reflecting on mines...so wanted to clarify I'm male.
Click to expand...

If you click on someone's avatar it'll give you a mini bio which includes their gender, if they don't mind it displayed.

Female presenting autistics are often better at masking and at identifying non verbal signals than males, hence the female member who commented didn't share your experience but suggested that it may be because of the gender difference.

I'm a bloke though and not experienced it either though I'm sure some will have.
 
Autistamatic said:
If you click on someone's avatar it'll give you a mini bio which includes their gender, if they don't mind it displayed.

Female presenting autistics are often better at masking and at identifying non verbal signals than males, hence the female member who commented didn't share your experience but suggested that it may be because of the gender difference.

I'm a bloke though and not experienced it either though I'm sure some will have.
Click to expand...
Ah, sorry I have completely misunderstood that! Sorry @Streetwise
 
ghostie said:
Hello.

Which tests are you referring to? I should probably take some myself. Thanks.
Click to expand...
On aspie tests.org there are a fair few tests. Three of which centre around expressions and tone. I did the movie one today which asks to say how a person was feeling during it, I completed it thinking confidently at least 21/23 then got the result of 10/23! Was very surprised by that!
 
Guilty as charged.

Since my quest to discover being on the spectrum of autism, it's allowed me to come to grips with the realization that I too don't have particularly good skills when it comes to facial recognition or body language. Sometimes I can figure it out, and sometimes I just get it all wrong.

Though in my twenties I was once tested on such a thing when I applied for a job as a police officer. Oh my...seeing a picture of a suspect at the beginning of the test, then hours later being questioned about it. :oops:

Luckily in any case I quickly realized that this was not a job for me.
 
For me, the only bad thing about being a Aspie is very bad social skills. A very big part of this is my inability to read non-verbal communication. Body language and everything that goes with it, I just can not read. However, I have a fairly good understanding of verbal language. Because of this, I tend to take things that are said to me literally. To the average person (NTs), this make me look odd. Not to good for social acceptance.
 
Judge said:
Guilty as charged.

Since my quest to discover being on the spectrum of autism, it's allowed me to come to grips with the realization that I too don't have particularly good skills when it comes to facial recognition or body language. Sometimes I can figure it out, and sometimes I just get it all wrong.

Though in my twenties I was once tested on such a thing when I applied for a job as a police officer. Oh my...seeing a picture of a suspect at the beginning of the test, then hours later being questioned about it. :oops:

Luckily in any case I quickly realized that this was not a job for me.
Click to expand...
I'm glad it's not just me. I would have said I'm a great reader of people and can understand body language. Tried those tests and then discovered I might have that wrong!

What then concerns me is that so often I draw negative conclusions from people's body language often deciding they don't like me or that I should avoid them. With my view that I am ace at this stuff I never questioned if my initial view was right or not.
 
I should point out that I don't share the experience largely because I never had any illusions that I was good at it in the first place. I already knew I didn't get something other people did when I was diagnosed at age 13.
36 years later and I've learned a great deal so my skills are improved, but they are learned rather than innate.
 
personally I think ,if I didn’t have a diagnosis of panic disorder ,which I don’t think is actually correct ,I would be much better at reading body language ,panic disorder rules everything
 
leehart said:
On aspie tests.org there are a fair few tests. Three of which centre around expressions and tone. I did the movie one today which asks to say how a person was feeling during it, I completed it thinking confidently at least 21/23 then got the result of 10/23! Was very surprised by that!
Click to expand...

Thanks.
 
I used to think I was amazing at it and slowly realized I'm incompetent, and I have no clue why I ever thought otherwise. I've heard others on this forum detail a similar experience.
 
I still recall when I left a nearly 20-year career behind where some six months later one of my former coworkers ran into me in a store.

In real-time I couldn't even place who she was. But then she wasn't my favorite person to work with either. :oops:
 
I don't give much attention to body language. I focus on the words. I've come to understand that there are certain body gestures that certain people use that suggest (or confirm) BS or overblown value of what they are saying. If I am suspicious of a person, I watch how they interact with others to see if there is consistency. People will use certain words and phrases when they lie, but you have to know them well enough to notice. I can spot fake enthusiasm in a person's voice - very common with salespeople or those who give a false compliment. I tend to prefer natural body language, which can change naturally with moods and settings. Crossing one's arms is supposed to be a defensive action, but that is seldom true. I really believe that you have to know a person long enough to use body language as a barometer to critique their message. Since I am on the spectrum, how I see it needs to be filtered anyway.
 
Fino said:
I used to think I was amazing at it and slowly realized I'm incompetent, and I have no clue why I ever thought otherwise. I've heard others on this forum detail a similar experience.
Click to expand...
I think that's the journey I might be on. Kinda humbling as it is always something I would say I was great at! That's something these tests are useful for, they aren't a diagnosis but they are very helpful at challenging assumptions.
 
leehart said:
Hi all, massive thanks for the links to websites and tests that can increase understanding in things. Today I took some of the ones on body language, voice tone and reading the movies. I came out low for understanding in all of them! I am finding that a bit of a surprise as I have always assumed myself very good at reading these things...although I have recently being challenging myself to consider that sometimes I get them wrong (mostly my very quick negative interpretations).

Has anyone else been surprised with results which maybe show a bit of lack of self awareness? Pondering what I do with that information.
Click to expand...

Can somebody direct me to those tests? I am not good at looking randomly.
Thanks.
 
Reading the mind in films
Test taken on 8 November 2019: You scored 12.0 out of 22 in 12.7 seconds


The average score for males with ASD is 12.3 out of 22 in 10.0 seconds
The average score for females with ASD is 12.1 out of 22 in 9.2 seconds
The average score for males with suspected ASD is 12.7 out of 22 in 11.3 seconds
The average score for females with suspected ASD is 12.7 out of 22 in 9.8 seconds
The average score for male neurotypicals is 12.8 out of 22 in 14.0 seconds
The average score for female neurotypicals is 12.8 out of 22 in 13.2 seconds



I guess I am pretty firmly into the asd average. Not sure though if time affects the score. I had to look up a couple of words.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New Threads

Top Bottom