What is your empathy scale not measuring? The convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity of five empathy scales

ABSTRACT

Recent reviews of the empathy literature have revealed that nearly half of the published studies on empathy employed an empathy measure that did not align precisely with the theoretical definition the author provided. This may occur because researchers might not know what each published empathy scale actually measures. The present research begins to address this problem by reporting a large set of correlates for five different empathy scales to enable researchers to review the interpersonal traits and abilities each scale predicted. Participants (N = 182) completed the Davis IRI and the empirically derived Hogan Empathy Scale (HES). Each empathy scale produced its own unique pattern of correlates with empathy related traits that more or less supported each scale’s description. However, none of the five scales reliably predicted empathy related abilities. We discuss the importance of examining a scale’s predictive validity over its reliability, face-validity, popularity, or name.

KEYWORDS:

• Empathy
• Convergent Validity
• Discriminant Validity
• Predictive Validity
• Traits Versus Abilities

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data described in this article are openly available in the Open Science Framework at https://osf.io/3u7ps.

Open scholarship

This article has earned the Center for Open Science badges for Open Data and Open Materials through Open Practices Disclosure. The data and materials are openly accessible at https://osf.io/3u7ps.

Notes

1. We do not report a typical power analysis (Type II error given sample size N) because Multitrait-Multimethod analyses do not involve a binary test of significance but rather an interpretation of as many relevant effect sizes as is possible to estimate. However, the confidence one has in such an analysis depends critically on how well each effect size has been estimated. Therefore, sample size is still incredibly important. Schönbrodt and Perugini (2013) estimate that the point of stability for a correlation ρ = .30 ranges from an N = 93 for an 80% level of confidence to an N = 177 for a 95% level of confidence (Table 1). The ρ’s estimated and reported in this paper were generated from samples ranging in N from 161 to 181.

2. Researchers interested in using Hogan’s Empathy Scale (1969) should be cautioned that some of its items appear outdated. For example, in one of our earlier studies employing this scale, many participants asked whether the question “I am a good mixer” referred to being good at mixing drinks.

3. Although the majority of trait scales were empirically related to the specific constructs their authors described, there were two scales which we flagged for inconsistencies. Specifically, Social Sensitivity seems to empirically relate to affective trait measures more strongly, and Emotional Sensitivity seems to empirically relate to behavioral trait measures more strongly. The reader is cautioned in their interpretation of the relationship between these two measures and each of the five empathy scales.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Morgan D. Stosic

Morgan Stosic is a PhD candidate at the University of Maine. Broadly, her research interests include the expression and perception of nonverbal behavior, with a focus on how individuals use nonverbal information to make first impression judgments of others.

Amber A. Fultz

Amber Fultz is a PhD candidate at Oregon State University. Her research interests include group processes, nonverbal behavior, synchrony, and interpersonal sensitivity.

Jill A. Brown

Dr. Jill Brown is an applied public health researcher and evaluation scientist and she currently works for a non-profit whose mission is to improve the human condition. She is passionate about clear communication and spends much of her time designing data visualizations to inspire change in people and organizations.

Frank J. Bernieri

Frank Bernieri is a Professor at Oregon State University. His research interests include all facets and applications of interpersonal behavior, including person perception, nonverbal behavior, rapport, and interactional synchrony.