Measuring empathy: reliability and validity of the Empathy Quotient.

@article{citeulike:1399048, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Empathy plays a key role in social understanding, but its empirical measurement has proved difficult. The Empathy Quotient (EQ) is a self-report scale designed to do just that. This series of four studies examined the reliability and validity of the EQ and determined its factor structure. METHOD: In Study 1, 53 people completed the EQ, Social Desirability Scale (SDS) and a non-verbal mental state inference test, the Eyes Task. In Study 2, a principal components analysis (PCA) was conducted on data from 110 healthy individuals and 62 people reporting depersonalisation (DPD). Approximately 1 year later, Study 3, involved the re-administration of the EQ (n = 24) along with the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI; n = 28). In the last study, the EQ scores of those with DPD, a condition that includes a subjective lack of empathy, were examined in depth. RESULTS: An association was found between the Eyes task and EQ, and only three EQ items correlated with the SDS. PCA revealed three factors: (1) 'cognitive empathy'; (2) 'emotional reactivity', and (3) 'social skills'. Test-retest reliability was good and moderate associations were found between the EQ and IRI subscales, suggesting concurrent validity. People with DPD did not show a global empathy deficit, but reported less social competence. CONCLUSIONS: The EQ is a valid, reliable scale and the different subscales may have clinical applications.}, address = {Section of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, DeCrespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF, UK.}, author = {Lawrence, E. J. and Shaw, P. and Baker, D. and Baron-Cohen, S. and David, A. S. }, citeulike-article-id = {1399048}, issn = {0033-2917}, journal = {Psychol Med}, keywords = {empathy}, month = {July}, number = {5}, pages = {911--919}, posted-at = {2007-06-19 19:08:53}, priority = {2}, title = {Measuring empathy: reliability and validity of the Empathy Quotient.}, url = {http://view.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15500311}, volume = {34}, year = {2004} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:1399048 L3 - citeulike-article-id:1399048 TI - Measuring empathy: reliability and validity of the Empathy Quotient. JF - Psychol Med VL - 34 IS - 5 SP - 911 EP - 919 AD - Section of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, DeCrespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF, UK. SN - 0033-2917 N2 - BACKGROUND: Empathy plays a key role in social understanding, but its empirical measurement has proved difficult. The Empathy Quotient (EQ) is a self-report scale designed to do just that. This series of four studies examined the reliability and validity of the EQ and determined its factor structure. METHOD: In Study 1, 53 people completed the EQ, Social Desirability Scale (SDS) and a non-verbal mental state inference test, the Eyes Task. In Study 2, a principal components analysis (PCA) was conducted on data from 110 healthy individuals and 62 people reporting depersonalisation (DPD). Approximately 1 year later, Study 3, involved the re-administration of the EQ (n = 24) along with the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI; n = 28). In the last study, the EQ scores of those with DPD, a condition that includes a subjective lack of empathy, were examined in depth. RESULTS: An association was found between the Eyes task and EQ, and only three EQ items correlated with the SDS. PCA revealed three factors: (1) 'cognitive empathy'; (2) 'emotional reactivity', and (3) 'social skills'. Test-retest reliability was good and moderate associations were found between the EQ and IRI subscales, suggesting concurrent validity. People with DPD did not show a global empathy deficit, but reported less social competence. CONCLUSIONS: The EQ is a valid, reliable scale and the different subscales may have clinical applications. KW - empathy AU - Lawrence, EJ AU - Shaw, P AU - Baker, D AU - Baron-Cohen, S AU - David, AS PY - 2004/07// UR - http://view.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15500311 ER -