A Questionnaire to Assess Affective and Cognitive Empathy in Children
Carsten Zoll and Sibylle Enz
Uses questions from
Bryant’s Index of Empathy Measurement (1982)
Leibetseder’s E-Skala (2001)
Garton & Gringart’s (2005) IRI version
Eisenberg’s Child-Report Sympathy Scale (1996, 1998)
Cognitive Empathy
When I am angry or upset at someone, I usually try to imagine what he or she is thinking or feeling.
I can tell by looking at a person, whether they are happy.
I really like to watch people open presents, even when I don’t get a present myself.
When I am arguing with my friends about what we are going to do, I think carefully about what they are saying before I decide whose idea is best.
I can tell what mood my parents are in by the look on their faces.
I notice straight away when something makes my best friend unhappy.
I can often guess the ending of other people’s sentences because I know what they are about to say.
I often try to understand my friends better by seeing things from their point of view.
On the phone I can tell if the other person is happy or sad by the tone of their voice.
I often know the ending of movies or books before they have finished.
I think people can have different opinions on the same thing.
I can tell by the look on my parent's face whether it’s a good time to ask them for something.
Affective Empathy
It makes me sad to see a child who can’t find anyone to play with
Seeing a child who is crying makes me feel like crying
Sometimes I cry when I watch TV
It get upset when I see a child being hurt
Some songs make me so sad I feel like crying
When I see someone suffering, I feel bad too
When I walk by a needy person I feel like giving them something
It upsets me when another child is being shouted at
When my parents get upset I feel bad.
I get upset when I see an animal being hurt.