Self-report empathy scales lack consistency: Evidence from exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis

Empathy is a construct with a long history of definitional variability, which is reflected in the variety of scales designed to measure it. A recent investigation involved a series of analyses to explore constructs assessed in the self-report of empathy and to illuminate the inconsistency in measurement across multiple scales. The current investigation was designed to extend this line of inquiry by focusing solely on cognitive and affective subscales of empathy. A sample of 855 undergraduates completed empathy questionnaires that contained both an affective and a cognitive subscale. A confirmatory factor analysis revealed poor fit for affective and cognitive empathy factors while an exploratory factor analysis revealed several factors that are not essential for empathy. To navigate current barriers for building a cohesive body of literature, future empathy researchers are encouraged to clearly define their conceptualization of empathy and carefully select a measure to best reflect their definition