ArticlePDF Available

The structure of empathy

Authors:

Abstract

Factor analysis of R. Hogan's Empathy Scale, scored in Likert format, yielded 4 factors: Social Self-Confidence, Even Temperedness, Sensitivity, and Nonconformity. Data for the analysis were obtained from 168 undergraduates and from the 45 research scientists and 66 student engineers in Hogan's (1969) study; 65 males and 45 females also completed a battery of personality measures (e.g., 2 scales of the Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey, the Survey of Ethical Attitudes, and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index). Correlations with the 16 personality measures and a set of 12 adjective rating scales confirmed the factors' unique psychological meanings. Empathy subscales, created from items loading primarily on 1 factor, accounted for roughly equal amounts of variance in Hogan's original Q-set empathy criterion, although the Sensitivity and Nonconformity factors appeared to be slightly more important. Implications include ways to improve the scoring of the Empathy Scale for future research and several broader measurement issues: the costs and benefits of using sophisticated statistics, the importance of manifest item content, and the importance of scale homogeneity. (51 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
A preview of the PDF is not available
... Unlike sympathy, empathy involves truly understanding and sharing patient's feelings (9) . Essential for dentist-patient relationships, empathy can be measured using scales like the Jefferson Scale of Empathy given in 2009 (10) Toronto empathy scale (11) , Hogan's empathy scale (12) , Kiersma-chen empathy scale (13) . The most accepted is the Jefferson scale of empathy (10) , which has versions tailored for health professionals and students and is designed for use in medical and health professional education rather than understanding and sharing feeling beyond the health care which is more applicable for general population. ...
Article
Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the association between Ethical dilemmas and Empathy among dental house surgeons of Telangana state. Methodology: A Cross-sectional study was conducted among House surgeons of 7 dental institutions in Telangana state in month of September 2022. A 26-item standardized closed ended questionnaire was administered to study participants which comprise of two domains – dilemmas and empathy. Dilemmas were presented as 6-clinical case scenarios depicting various principles of ethics while Empathy was measured using the HPS-version of Jeferson scale questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed to the study participants and collected on the same day. Descriptives and chi-square test was done to determine the association between dilemmas and levels of empathy. Results: A total of 382 house surgeons, 81.4% were females with mean age of 23.23 ± 1.098. Participants showed high respect for autonomy, with 84.6% in scenario 1 and 64.5% in scenario 2. However, respect for non-maleficence was lower which is about 31.7% & 48.1% in scenarios 3 & 4 respectively. Respect for principle of beneficence was 22% while truthfulness was 74.3%. Among the study participants, 46.3% exhibited moderate level of empathy. There exists no association between dilemmic situation and levels empathy except for truthfulness. Conclusion: Ethical dilemmas are common during dental practice and the way they are handled differ among dentists. Although most of them were empathetic there is no significant association between dilemma and levels of empathy except for truthfulness. Keywords: Ethical Principles, Dilemma, Empathy, Dental ethics, Case Scenarios
... As a result, there is no robust way to accurately identify the impacts of engineering design instruction on empathic formation. While numerous measures of empathy exist [6,9,[15][16][17][18][19], these instruments tend to conceptualize empathy as a general trait or tendency. However, within disciplinary contexts, empathy manifests in unique ways when compared to general life experiences [9]. ...
... In addition to the two dimensions of appropriate accommodation and socializing style, HES also has sensitivity and other orientations. Therefore, HES is not a pure empathy scale, but more like a social skills scale (Johnson et al., 1983). The controversy over QMEE argues that it is related to the ability to evoke emotions in the overall environment, rather than specifically targeting human emotions (Mehrabian et al., 1988). ...
Article
Full-text available
This study aimed to revise the Chinese version of the Basic Empathy Scale for college students. The cluster random sampling method was used to select 805 college students from two universities to conduct confirmatory factor analysis, correlation analysis, reliability analysis, and an independent samples t-test. The confirmatory factor analysis model illustrated that the two-factor model failed to fit the data, and the two-factor model with methodological effect was finally accepted. Therefore, the questionnaire exhibits a strong methodological effect among Chinese college students which requires further study. Emotional and cognitive empathy had a significant positive correlation with gratitude and Internet altruism behavior, which showed good convergent validity. The gender difference test revealed that the emotional empathy level of girls was significantly higher than that of boys. The revised Basic Empathy Scale showed acceptable reliability and validity.
Article
Full-text available
Numerous studies have examined the impact of empathetic leaders in organizations. However, the systematic consolidation and categorization of these effects have not yet been conducted. This article presents a systematic literature review of 42 academic studies, carefully selected from 5 databases using a rigorous search process, with the aim of developing a concise category system that synthesizes the effects of empathetic leaders in organizations. After discussing theoretical lenses and our methodological approach, we outline the various understandings of empathy and the measuring instruments used in the analyzed articles. As our main contribution, we then describe nine categories that summarize the effects of empathetic leaders in organizations. These categories consider affect, attitudes, empathy, equity, interpersonal relationships, leadership practice, perception, performance, and well-being. We further outline the individuals or groups affected by these effects. Finally, we discuss our results and offer future research avenues for the scientific community as well as practical recommendations for three different stakeholders who can shape empathetic leadership in organizations: leaders, human resources (HR) managers, and board members.
Article
This study examines the service relationships between minority service providers and their majority-group customers, focusing on power attribution, empathy, and emotional labor strategies. An online survey tapped the perceptions of service providers belonging to two different ethnic and national minorities (N = 511; of the sample, 301 respondents were FSU immigrants (59%), and 210 were members of the Arab minority (41%). Age ranged from 18 to 65 (Mage = 37); the total sample included 63% females. All service providers were from the “Service Shop” sector). Minority service providers' responses were affected significantly by the power they attributed to majority-group customers, activating higher emotional efforts to please customers. Testing moderated mediation model revealed that the mediation effect of minority service providers' empathy on the relationship between power attributed to majority-group customers and minority-group service providers’ emotional labor found to be significantly stronger for national minority service employees (in compare to ethnic minorities). The study emphasizes the importance of service relationships in a diverse environment and their practical implications. Additional theoretical contribution is related to the distinction between two types of minorities: national and ethnic minorities (service provider origin) in order to explore their attribution of power towards majority group customers, which effect the mechanism of empathy and in turn minorities provider's emotional mechanism (emotional labor).
Article
Full-text available
Biopsychosocial criminological theories suggest that it is important to consider interactions between risk factors from different domains in the prediction of externalizing behavior. Lower resting heart rate is considered the best replicated biological risk factor for externalizing behavior. The psychological construct of empathy has also shown to be predictive of such behavior, but little is known about the potential interaction between these two different risk factors in predicting externalizing behavior. We examined the moderating role of empathy on the association between resting heart rate in childhood and adolescence with externalizing behavior by young adulthood using two subsets of participants from the Longitudinal Risk Factors for Antisocial Behavior project: Subsample 1 (n = 697) at ages 9–10 and 19–20 years and Subsample 2 (n = 394) at ages 14–15 and 19–20 years. Linear and logistic regressions showed that empathy moderated the association between resting heart rate in adolescence and externalizing behavior by young adulthood. Among individuals with low but not high levels of empathy, increased resting heart rate predicted lower levels of externalizing behavior. Interventions enhancing empathic skills in individuals with psychophysiological risk profiles could be beneficial.
Article
Empathy is often portrayed simplistically in textbooks, emphasising cognitive understanding over emotional connection. This paper critiques the disconnect between textbook explanations of empathy and the complexity of practising empathy in real-world contexts. It reviews academic literature, identifying key themes in empathy definitions and gaps regarding language, emotions, and cultural factors. The paper explores real-life challenges of empathy such as navigating biases, stress contagion, and ethical dilemmas. It is argued that bridging the gap between theoretical and practical empathy requires acknowledging nuances, fostering self-reflection, considering contextual factors, and developing emotional resonance. Promoting more comprehensive empathy has implications for education, training programs, and interpersonal relationships.
Article
Full-text available
With the development of science and technology, the Internet occupies more time in daily lives and changed our life from all aspects. Empathy, an important factor for human interaction that is usually considered to improve socializing, is also affected by Internet use. By surveying 193 Chinese adults about their online habits and empathy levels through Davis Empathy scale. We found that the time spent surfing on the Internet, especially the time spent on entertainment, is positively correlated with digital empathy, while playing video games negatively affect people's empathy ability.
Article
Full-text available
This study aims to investigate the effect of parents’ interpersonal communication and students’ empathy on the prosocial behaviors of Buddhist students. This study employed a quantitative method to reveal whether there is an effect of parents’ interpersonal communication and students’ empathy on the prosocial behaviors of Buddhist students. The instrument used to collect data was questionnaire. The results indicated that there was a significant effect of parents’ interpersonal communication on the prosocial behaviors of Buddhist students with significance level 0.046 and t-value 2.124. Good parents’ interpersonal communication improved prosocial behaviors of Buddhist students. Moreover, students’ empathy had a significant effect on students’ prosocial behavior with significance level 0.000 and t-value 15.021, which means that higher empathy will result in better prosocial behaviors. Based on the regression analysis, parents’ interpersonal communication and students’ empathy affected the prosocial behavior of Buddhist students at junior high schools in Wonogiri as much as 92.9%. The implication of this study is parents should build a good interpersonal communication with their children and develop their empathy so that children can positively respond to parents’ guidance which will lead to better prosocial behavior.
Article
To facilitate a multidimensional approach to empathy the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) includes 4 subscales: Perspective-Taking (PT) Fantasy (FS) Empathic Concern (EC) and Personal Distress (PD). The aim of the present study was to establish the convergent and discriminant validity of these 4 subscales. Hypothesized relationships among the IRI subscales between the subscales and measures of other psychological constructs (social functioning self-esteem emotionality and sensitivity to others) and between the subscales and extant empathy measures were examined. Study subjects included 677 male and 667 female students enrolled in undergraduate psychology classes at the University of Texas. The IRI scales not only exhibited the predicted relationships among themselves but also were related in the expected manner to other measures. Higher PT scores were consistently associated with better social functioning and higher self-esteem; in contrast Fantasy scores were unrelated to these 2 characteristics. High EC scores were positively associated with shyness and anxiety but negatively linked to egotism. The most substantial relationships in the study involved the PD scale. PD scores were strongly linked with low self-esteem and poor interpersonal functioning as well as a constellation of vulnerability uncertainty and fearfulness. These findings support a multidimensional approach to empathy by providing evidence that the 4 qualities tapped by the IRI are indeed separate constructs each related in specific ways to other psychological measures.
Article
• In the last half-generation or so there has been increased emphasis on an understanding of personality functioning. It is asked what, if anything, is known or agreed to in this field. Is there a typical mother of schizophrenics, for example? In all the talk about the "creative personality" or the "authoritarian personality" just what is meant by these terms? What really is "hysteria"? Doctor Jack Block's monograph introduces the California Q-set—a method for describing comprehensively in contemporary psychodynamic terms an individual's personality. This method for encoding personality evaluation will prove highly useful in research applications by psychiatrists, psychologists, and sociologists, for it permits quantitative comparisons and calibrations of their evaluations of patients. He compares the Q-sort procedure with conventional rating methods and adjective check lists. He considers in detail the various forms of application of Q-sort procedure and appropriate statistical procedures to employ for these applications. Included in the Appendices are conversion tables for calculation of Q-sort correlations, California Q-set descriptions of various clinical concepts to be employed for calibration purposes, and an adjective Q-set for use by non-professional sorters. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved) • In the last half-generation or so there has been increased emphasis on an understanding of personality functioning. It is asked what, if anything, is known or agreed to in this field. Is there a typical mother of schizophrenics, for example? In all the talk about the "creative personality" or the "authoritarian personality" just what is meant by these terms? What really is "hysteria"? Doctor Jack Block's monograph introduces the California Q-set—a method for describing comprehensively in contemporary psychodynamic terms an individual's personality. This method for encoding personality evaluation will prove highly useful in research applications by psychiatrists, psychologists, and sociologists, for it permits quantitative comparisons and calibrations of their evaluations of patients. He compares the Q-sort procedure with conventional rating methods and adjective check lists. He considers in detail the various forms of application of Q-sort procedure and appropriate statistical procedures to employ for these applications. Included in the Appendices are conversion tables for calculation of Q-sort correlations, California Q-set descriptions of various clinical concepts to be employed for calibration purposes, and an adjective Q-set for use by non-professional sorters. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)