The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire: Scale Development and Initial Validation of a Factor-Analytic Solution to Multiple Empathy Measures |
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| Authors: | R. Nathan Spreng Margaret C. McKinnon Raymond A. Mar Brian Levine |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Centre , Toronto, Ontario, Canada;2. Mood Disorders Program, St. Joseph's Healthcare , Hamilton, Ontario, Canada;3. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neuroscience , McMaster University , Hamilton, Ontario, Canada;4. Department of Psychology , York University , Toronto, Ontario, Canada;5. Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Centre , Toronto, Ontario, Canada;6. Department of Psychology , University of Toronto , Toronto, Ontario, Canada;7. Department of Medicine (Neurology) , University of Toronto , Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
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| Abstract: | To formulate a parsimonious tool to assess empathy, we used factor analysis on a combination of self-report measures to examine consensus and developed a brief self-report measure of this common factor. The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ) represents empathy as a primarily emotional process. In 3 studies, the TEQ demonstrated strong convergent validity, correlating positively with behavioral measures of social decoding, self-report measures of empathy, and negatively with a measure of Autism symptomatology. Moreover, it exhibited good internal consistency and high test–retest reliability. The TEQ is a brief, reliable, and valid instrument for the assessment of empathy. |
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