Basic Empathy Scale

1. My friend’s emotions don’t affect me much
2. After being with a friend who is sad about something, I usually feel sad
3. I can understand my friend’s happiness when she/he does well at something
4. I get frightened when I watch characters in a good scary movie
5. I get caught up in other feelings easily
6. I find it hard to know when my friends are frightened
7. I don’t become sad when I see other people crying
8. Other people’s feelings don’t bother me at all
9. When someone is feeling down I can usually understand how they feel
10. I can usually work out when my friends are scared
11. I often become sad when watching sad things on TV or in films
12. I can often understand how people are feeling even before they tell me
13. Seeing a person who has been angered has no effect on my feelings
14. I can usually work out when people are cheerful
15. I tend to feel scared when I am with friends who are afraid
16. I can usually realize quickly when a friend is angry
17. I often get swept up in my friend’s feelings
18. My friend’s unhappiness doesn’t make me feel anything
19. I am not usually aware of my friend’s feelings
20. I have trouble figuring out when my friends are happy

Response Options:
A five-point response scale (strongly disagree to strongly agree)

Not Available

PRIMARY CITATION:

Jolliffe, D., & Farrington, D. P. (2006). Development and validation of the Basic Empathy Scale. Journal of adolescence, 29(4), 589-611.