Measuring response empathy: The development of a multicomponent rating scale.

Abstract

This article describes the development of and psychometric data on a new approach to the measurement of the empathic quality of counselor behavior. The features of this approach are, first, the division of the empathy construct into a set of components tapping different aspects of empathic behavior; second, greater specification of the construct; and third, focus on the empathic qualities of individual counselor responses. An existing measure, the Lister Empathy Scale, provided the basis for the Response Empathy Rating Scale, which consists of eight components: frame, inference, accuracy, here and now, centrality, words, voice, manner, and impact. Good interrater reliability was found for the whole scale, as well as for all but two of the components. Centrality was the core component, and factor analysis suggested two underlying factors, Depth Expressiveness and Empathic Exploration. Evidence for validity was found in correlations with client ratings of feeling understood; however, these correlations were strongest when ratings were averaged to form larger units, such as episodes or sessions.