Explorations in the Measurement of Empathy AsAnalytical Predictive Ability
Calvin J. Daane Arizona State University
Gordon J. Rhum State College of Iowa
1962
Abstract.
This was a preliminary effort to develop a scale for the measurement of empathy as analytical predictive ability. The approach embodied the use of 20 words in three contexts; the 60 rating elements comprised the scale.
Extent of agreement between self ratings of a person to be judged (reader) and the estimates of those ratings by a group of persons (judges) was used as a measure of empathic ability. An attempt to take into account possible spurious influences on the empathy scores was not fruitful. The standard ma- terials, including a filmed version of the reader's behavior, were used with several samples. Results showed generally better than chance empathy scorios. There was some intimation that this type of scale is useful in identifying students for a school of nursing. Other between-group differences are suggested. The finding