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Questionnaire Measure of Empathic Tendency

Questionnaire Measure of Empathic Tendency is a 33-item instrument designed to measure an individual's responsiveness to another's emotional experience. This measure contains the following subscales: Susceptibility to Emotional Contagion, Appreciation of the Feelings of Unfamiliar and Distant Others, Extreme Emotional Responsiveness, Tendency to be Moved by Others' Positive Emotional Experiences, Tendency to be Moved by Others' Negative Emotional Experiences, Sympathetic Tendency, and Willingness to be in Contact with Others who have Problems.

Categories

Geographies Tested: United States of America

Populations Included: Female, Male

Age Range: Adolescents, Adults

Items:

1. It makes me sad to see a lonely stranger in a group.
2. People make too much of the feelings and sensitivity of animals.*
3. I often find public displays of affection annoying.*
4. I am annoyed by unhappy people who are just sorry for themselves.*
5. I become nervous if others around me seem to be nervous.
6. I find it silly for people to cry out of happiness.*
7. I tend to get emotionally involved with a friend's problems.
8. Sometimes the words of a love song can move me deeply.
9. I tend to lose control when I am bringing bad news to people.
10. The people around me have a great influence on my moods.
11. Most foreigners I have met seemed cool and unemotional.*
12. I would rather be a social worker than work in a job training center.
13. I don't get upset just because a friend if acting upset.*
14. I like to watch people open presents.
15. Lonely people are probably unfriendly.*
16. Seeing people cry upsets me.
17. Some songs make me happy.
18. I really get involved with the feelings of the characters in a novel.
19. I get very angry when I see someone being ill-treated.
20. I am able to remain calm even though those around me worry.*
21. When a friend starts to talk about his problems, I try to steer the conversation to something else.*
22. Another's laughter is not catching for me.*
23. Sometimes at the movies I am amused by the amount of crying and sniffling around me.*
24. I am able to make decisions without being influenced by people's feelings.*
25. I cannot continue to feel OK if people around me are depressed.
26. It is hard for me to see how some things upset people so much.*
27. I am very upset when I see an animal in pain.
28. Becoming involved in books or movies is a little silly.*
29. It upsets me to see helpless old people.
30. I become more irritated than sympathetic when I see someone's tears.*
31. I become very involved when I watch a movie.
32. I often find that I can remain cool in spite of the excitement around me.*
33. Little children sometimes cry for no apparent reason.*

Response Options:
4-point Likert scale
1 - Very strong disagreement
4 - Very strong agreement

*Items are reverse scored

Scoring Procedures

All algebraic sum of all items is computed.

Original Citation

Mehrabian, A., & Epstein, N. (1972). A measure of emotional empathy. Journal of Personality, 40(4), 525-543. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1972.tb00078.x


Psychometric Score

Ease of Use Score

Scoring breakdown

Formative Research

Qualitative Research

Existing Literature/Theoretical Framework

Field Expert Input

Cognitive Interviews / Pilot Testing

Reliability

Internal

Test-retest

Interrater

Validity

Content

Face

Criterion (gold-standard)

Construct

KEY

Ease of Use

Readability

Scoring Clarity

Length

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