Observer Ratings
Some of the earliest observer measures of empathy were those of Truax and Carkhuff (1967). These scales ask raters to decide if the content of the therapist’s response detracts from the client’s response, is interchangeable with it, or adds to it.
Typically, trained raters listen to two-to-fifteen minute samples from session audio recordings. In spite of later criticism (Lambert, De Julio, & Stein, 1978), these scales have been widely used. More recent observer empathy measures are based on broader understandings of forms of empathic responding and measure multiple component elements of empathy (e.g., Watson & Prosser, 2002).