Interpersonal Reactivity Index - Eckerd College. The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis, 1980, 1983) is a measure of dispositional empathy that takes as its starting point the notion that empathy consists of a set of separate but related constructs. The instrument contains four seven-item subscales, each tapping a separate facet of empathy. The perspective taking (PT) scale measures the reported tendency to spontaneously adopt the psychological point of view of others in everyday life ("I sometimes try to understand my friends better by imagining how things look from their perspective"). The empathic concern (EC) scale assesses the tendency to experience feelings of sympathy and compassion for unfortunate others ("I often have tender, concerned feelings for people less fortunate than me"). The personal distress (PD) scale taps the tendency to experience distress and discomfort in response to extreme distress in others ("Being in a tense emotional situation scares me").
Davis, M. H. (1980). Personality Test of Emotional Empathy. The Balanced Emotional Empathy Test (BEES) and Optional Software Definition of Emotional Empathy "Emotional Empathy" is defined as one's vicarious experience of another's emotional experiences -- feeling what the other person feels. In the context of personality measurement, it describes individual differences in the tendency to have emotional empathy with others.
Some individuals tend to be generally more empathic in their dealings with others; they typically experience more of the feelings others feel, whereas others tend to be generally less empathic. An interesting and extremely important feature of the BEES is that it relates negatively (r = -.50) to interpersonal violence and, thus, may be useful (as an indirect and subtle measure) for identifying persons who may have a potential to behave in highly aggressive or violent ways (Mehrabian, 1997b). Windows Software for Administring and Scoring the BEES Scale Description: Format, Sample Items, Features Sample Items of the BEES References. Empathy > Measuring Empathy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Psychologists distinguish between measurements of situational empathy—that is, empathic reactions in a specific situation—and measurements of dispositional empathy, where empathy is understood as a person's stable character trait.
Situational empathy is measured either by asking subjects about their experiences immediately after they were exposed to a particular situation, by studying the “facial, gestural, and vocal indices of empathy-related responding” (Zhou, Valiente, and Eisenberg 2003, 275), or by various physiological measures such as the measurement of heart rate or skin conductance. None of these measurements are perfect tools. As is widely known, self-reports can be influenced by a variety of interfering factors.
They might not indicate of how one has actually felt but rather reflect one's knowledge of how other people expect one to feel. They also might vary according to an individual's ability to verbalize his or her thoughts. Return to the main entry. Empathy measurement. The consultation and relational empathy (CARE) measure: developm. + Author Affiliations Email: stewmercer@blueyonder.co.uk Received June 9, 2004. Accepted June 17, 2004. Abstract Background. Empathy is a key aspect of the clinical encounter but there is a lack of patient-assessed measures suitable for general clinical settings.
Objectives. Our aim was to develop a consultation process measure based on a broad definition of empathy, which is meaningful to patients irrespective of their socio-economic background. Methods. Results. Conclusions. Mercer SW, Maxwell M, Heaney D and Watt GCM. Introduction Clinical encounters between patients and health care professionals are the core activity of medical care. The measures that have been developed to assess empathy have been designed principally for use in psychiatric or nursing settings (in secondary care), rather than in more general medical settings or primary care. Methods Box 1 Initial version of the CARE measure (pilot 1) Ethical approval was obtained for the pilot studies and interviews.
Table 1 Table 2.