Ask HN: Do people with authism have emotions?

#1

Post by soltanov » Mon, Aug 10, 2026, 5:10 AM UTC

I discussed this topic with a workmate. He said autism people dont have emotions, they dont feel anything. I disagreed with him. What do you guys think? Are there any related researches related to this topic?

Thanks for answering.

Re: Ask HN: Do people with authism have emotions?

#2

Post by stop50 » Mon, Aug 10, 2026, 5:18 AM UTC

Of course they have emotions, some have just an problem showing them or don't want to show then.

Re: Ask HN: Do people with authism have emotions?

#3

Post by numpad0 » Mon, Aug 10, 2026, 5:45 AM UTC

that's an insane idea. it's just that they can't find human things interesting, so they tend to not get invested in being more humane.

it'll lead to things like finding the act of banging the head to the wall all day to be more fun than trying to speak, and that's stupid, but that technically has nothing to do with IQ or emotion.

some maintain enough interest to be a functional yet awkward man, or sometimes they just end their lives banging on the wall. we don't know where in the human brain is that tunable parameter or how to adjust it.

Re: Ask HN: Do people with authism have emotions?

#4

Post by WCSTombs » Mon, Aug 10, 2026, 6:20 AM UTC

People with autism are still people. You don't have to research them, you can go talk to them. And yes, they have emotions.

Re: Ask HN: Do people with authism have emotions?

#5

Post by ahazred8ta » Mon, Aug 10, 2026, 6:34 AM UTC

There are certainly some people with severe autism whose behavior is emotionally flat and they don't SHOW emotions much. But that's a far cry from not having any emotions. Explain the word 'Stoic' to him.

There's an unrelated cluster of unemotional traits associated with psychopathic disorders, but that's not autism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callous_and_unemotional_traits

Re: Ask HN: Do people with authism have emotions?

#6

Post by runjake » Mon, Aug 10, 2026, 3:11 PM UTC

ahazred8ta wrote: post #5

There are certainly some people with severe autism whose behavior is emotionally flat and they don't SHOW emotions much. But that's a far cry from not having any emotions. Explain the word 'Stoic' to him. There's an unrelated cluster of unemotional traits associated with psychopathic disorders, but that's not autism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callous_and_unemotional_traits

And even people with psychopathy disorders have emotions.