The relationship between leadership and empathy.

To test the hypothesis that the selection of the leader of a group is a function of his ability to satisfy the needs of the group members, the results on two tests purporting to measure empathy were correlated with leadership ratings. The results are interpreted to indicate support for the need theory of leadership. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Naturalistic and structured assessments of prosocial behavior in preschool children: The influence of empathy and perspective taking.

Assessed prosocial behavior in 52 52–66 mo old preschoolers using 3 approaches: (1) naturalistic observation of prosocial events; (2) structured measures of perspective taking, empathy, and 2 types of prosocial behaviors; and (3) teacher ratings of prosocial behaviors under different eliciting situations. Results show that different categories of prosocial behavior within the 1st 2 settings were relatively independent. Teacher ratings were internally consistent but generally unrelated to the other measures. The structured measure of prosocial behavior that had a peer as the recipient was the best predictor of the equivalent observed behavior. Inconsistencies in previous research investigating the empathy–altruism relationships may reflect differences in assessment procedures, because significant relationships between different forms of empathy and prosocial behavior were dependent on the operational definitions of these processes. Ss demonstrated a sensitivity to the needs and feelings of their peers. Although this capacity was not tapped by traditional measures of perspective taking, it may have mediated prosocial behavior in the natural setting. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interrelationships among warmth, genuineness, empathy, and temporal speech patterns in interpersonal interaction.

Paired 32 male and 32 female undergraduates, who were strangers to each other, into same-sex dyads. After a 45-min session of natural conversation in each dyad, Ss completed a questionnaire rating their conversational partners on empathy, warmth, and genuineness. Comparison of ratings by partners with ratings by independent Os did not correlate significantly. However, Os' ratings support the hypothesis that "switching pauses" (1 of the parameters of temporal congruence) would correlate significantly with ratings of warmth. Results show that the notion of switching-pause convergence as a reliable, objective measure of warmth in peer conversations is a valid one. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counselor's empathy level and client topic changes.

Tested the hypothesis that client-introduced topic changes follow a reduction in counselor's level of empathy. Empathy ratings were made by 2 experienced judges for 27 counselor statements made prior to topic change and for 27 randomly selected counselor statements. These ratings were compared with the average empathy rating for the counseling interview. In 22 of the 27 statements made prior to topic change, the empathy rating was lower than the interview average. This was true for only 13 of the 27 randomly selected statements. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation of a trainability index to T-group outcomes.

Examined the ability of D. Stock and H. Thelen's (see pa, vol. 33:1008) measure of reactions to group situations (the reactions to group situations test) to provide a trainability index for screening potential t-group members. Trainability indexes were calculated, and self-disclosures and empathy ratings (mmpi role play scale) were measured previous to and following sensitivity training of 2 groups: (a) 12 negro psychiatric aide trainees, and (b) 6 caucasian and 3 negro office of economic opportunity aides. Positive relationships were found between trainability and the 2 t-group outcome measures (openness and empathy) for both groups. Results provide further validation for the trainability index in human service professions. (24 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of counselor statements on rater judgments of client self-exploration.

Examined the influence of counselor statements on rater judgements of client self-exploration. Audiotaped segments of counseling interviews that included both counselor and client statements and identical autiotaped segments, but with the counselors' statements deleted, were rated on client self-exploration by separate groups of raters (totaling 20 counseling graduate students). A significantly positive correlation was found between the 2 sets of ratings. With 1 exception, no significant differences were found for each segment. Finally, no differences were found between ratings for segments, unedited and edited, in which counselors were functioning at high levels of accurate empathy and ratings in which counselors were functioning at low levels of accurate empathy. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of race and socioeconomic status on the perception of process variables in counseling.

Analyzed the effects of race and socioeconomic status (SES) on the perception of process variables in counseling, including judged counselor empathy, judged counselor–client cognitive similarity, and attraction. The study used a 2?×?12?×?2?×?6 design (race of S, tape order, SES of client, race of counselor and client) with repeated measures on the SES of client variable and the race of counselor and client variable. Following empathy training, 12 Black and 12 White undergraduate middle-class males listened to 12 specially prepared counselor–client taped dialogs and rated the counselor and client on each tape on the process variables being researched. All hypotheses were confirmed. Both Black and White Ss gave highest counselor empathy ratings, client–counselor attraction and cognitive similarity ratings, and client improvement ratings to matchings in which the counselor and client were similar over race and social class, and they gave lowest ratings when the counselor and client were dissimilar over race and social class. Effects of client accent were generally not significant. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Accurate empathy" and the A-B dichotomy.

Compared B-type therapists with neurotic patients and A-type therapists with schizophrenic patients, with the opposite patient-therapist pairings for 2 criterion measures of "improvement" and a measure of "accurate empathy." 8 therapists were given the A-B scale and their sessions with a total of 31 patients recorded. Neither judged improvement nor length of hospitalization was significantly related to either high- vs. low-empathy ratings or to type of therapist-patient pairings. As predicted, however, B-type therapists with neurotic patients and A-type therapists with schizophrenic patients displayed more empathy than with the reverse pairings. Results indicate a relationship between the findings of 2 independent lines of research on therapy outcome, 1 basing outcome predictions on client-centered theoretical constructs, the other on the empirical value of the A-B scale. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The meaning and reliability of accurate empathy ratings: A rejoinder.

Presents counterarguments to J. Chinsky and J. Rappaport's assertion that accurate empathy ratings reflect a quality other than that defined by the scale and to their suggestion that reliability estimates are in general inflated and may be related to the number of therapists being rated in a given study. Research evidence and arguments are presented that demonstrate that (a) the accurate empathy scale tends to measure what theorists and lay people in general think of as understanding vs. not understanding, (b) there is no relationship between the reliability estimates per study and the number of therapists being rated, and (c) the reliability estimates in most of the studies are appropriate and generally accepted as so by competent statisticians. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Therapist multicultural competency: A study of therapy dyads.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 44(1) of Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training (see record 2007-04278-014). The fifth author's name should be spelled as follows: Alexa Mislowack.] This study examined the role of therapist multicultural competence (TMC). Fifty-one therapy dyads completed measures of therapist multicultural competency, working alliance, and their satisfaction with therapy. Clients also completed measures of therapist attractiveness, expertness, trustworthiness, and empathy. Results showed strong associations between clients' ratings of TMC and ratings of the working alliance, therapist empathy, and satisfaction. Clients' combined rating of therapist expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness were not associated with their TMC ratings but were significantly associated with therapists' self-appraised TMC ratings. Therapists' ratings of their TMC were associated with their ratings of the working alliance and satisfaction with their work. Results are discussed in the context of the relevant literature, as are implications for training and research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between clients' perceptions of therapist–parent similarity with respect to empathy, regard, and unconditionality and therapists' rating of client transference.

The authors studied the similarity between clients' perceptions of their therapists and their perceptions of their parents (or early parental figures) in terms of the relationship qualities of empathy, positive regard, and unconditionality of regard and how those perceptions compared with their therapists' ratings of transference. Participants were 62 actual therapy dyads. The results failed to support a hypothesized positive association between the similarity of the therapist and parents or parental figures on the relationship dimensions of empathy, regard, and unconditionality and therapist ratings of transference. Instead, the clients' relationship ratings of their parents and therapists suggested that therapists' perceptions of transference may more accurately reflect perceptions of their clients' nontransferential (i.e., real relationship) reactions to the therapist. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality correlates of accurate empathy in a college companion program.

Cross-validated research by A. E. Bergin and S. Solomon on personality test correlates of empathy using 33 untrained female undergraduates as quasi-therapists. Their interactions with hospital patients were recorded, sampled, and rated using the Truax Accurate Empathy Scale. Accurate empathy (AE) ratings were correlated with student personality measures from the EPPS and the MMPI. Results partially support data reported by Bergin and Solomon in that Depression and Psychasthenia scales of MMPI were negatively and significantly correlated with AE ratings of students. Results also provide data about changes in levels of AE over time and methodological pitfalls in sampling this variable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Short-term filial therapy with German mothers: Findings from a controlled study.

Filial therapy has been shown to be an effective tool in improving parent-child relationships. This study represents a starting point for investigating the effectiveness of filial therapy with German mothers and their children. A brief form of the VanFleet filial training approach was used with a group of 15 mothers attending a health retreat for 2 weeks. Dependent variables included a measure of parenting styles, behavior ratings of children, and child-mother play interaction measures. Results showed an increase in acceptance, empathy, positive attention, and educational competence for mothers who received filial therapy and a decrease in ratings of their children's behavior difficulties. Control group members did not show similar gains. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A measure of relational competence for community-dwelling elderly.

A measure of relational competence was developed to assess the skills necessary for peer friendship development among the elderly. Participants were required to respond to a series of social problem vignettes that were constructed to tap empathy, assertion, and role-taking skills. Validation data were collected as part of a larger project designed to establish indigenous, elderly peer-support telephone dyads among low-income, community-dwelling elderly women. Results indicated that the measure of relational competence was related to initial friendship formation, telephone conversational skills, and rated social competence as determined by judges' ratings of 2 telephone conversations between participants and staff members. The research illustrates the usefulness of moving away from trait conceptions of social competence to a more focused consideration of particular task demands and the skills needed to solve age-linked social problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of training, stimulus context, and mode of stimulus presentation on empathy ratings.

Investigated how empathy ratings made by raters trained to use the Empathic Understanding in Interpersonal Processes (EU) Scale were affected by the conditions under which the ratings were made. 54 female undergraduates served as raters. The 3 factors studied were (a) training condition, (b) context of the counselor statement rated, and (c) mode of presentation of stimuli to the raters. Results indicate that training condition was the only significant factor. The significance of this factor is discussed in terms of the possible danger in comparing studies that used different training procedures. The nonsignificance of the context and mode factors is discussed in terms of the construct validity of the EU scale. It is argued that empathy ratings should logically be sensitive to the rater's knowledge of to whom and to what the counselor is responding. As this was not the case in the present study, the construct validity of the scale was held in question. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sources of discrepancy in Carkhuff and Gait measurements of empathy.

Proposes a framework of 3 possible sources of discrepancy in empathy ratings: (a) construct definition including specification of empathic behavior and of the unit of analysis, (b) communication sampling procedure, and (c) raters' expertise. These variables were systematically varied in measuring empathy for 31 counseling trainees (average age 23.7 yrs) in 2 sessions conducted according to Carkhuff Empathy Scale and Group Assessment of Interpersonal Traits (GAIT) procedures. Results indicate that both procedures were discrepant in ranking Ss on empathy. Differences in construct definitions, along a continuum from global to specific, together with the sampling differences appeared to account for some of the discrepancy. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbal interaction analysis of empathic and nonempathic responses of therapists.

Analyzed 100 5-min samples from 35 tape-recorded psychotherapy sessions and rated them on empathic understanding. Silence behaviors appear to be indicative of high levels of therapist empathy. Of the 5 therapist verbal behaviors that together formed the best discriminators between groups of empathy ratings, only 1 talk behavior appeared. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in empathy and related capacities.

Reviews the literature on sex differences in empathy (defined as vicarious affective responding to the emotional state of another) and related capacities (affective role taking and decoding of nonverbal cues). The literature is discussed according to method used to assess empathy and affective role taking. Where appropriate, meta-analyses were also computed. In general, sex differences in empathy were found to be a function of the methods used to assess empathy. There was a large sex difference favoring women when the measure of empathy was self-report scales; moderate differences (favoring females) were found for reflexive crying and self-report measures in laboratory situations; and no sex differences were evident when the measure of empathy was either physiological or unobtrusive observations of nonverbal reactions to another's emotional state. Moreover, few sex differences were found for children's affective role taking and decoding abilities. (156 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Therapist Multicultural Competency: A Study of Therapy Dyads": Correction.

Reports an error in "Therapist Multicultural Competency: A Study of Therapy Dyads" by Jairo N. Fuertes, Thomas I. Stracuzzi, Jennifer Bennett, Jennifer Scheinholtz, A. Mislowack, Mindy Hersh and David Cheng (Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 2006[Win], Vol 43[4], 480-490). The fifth author's name should be spelled as follows: Alexa Mislowack. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2006-23019-010.) This study examined the role of therapist multicultural competence (TMC). Fifty-one therapy dyads completed measures of therapist multicultural competency, working alliance, and their satisfaction with therapy. Clients also completed measures of therapist attractiveness, expertness, trustworthiness, and empathy. Results showed strong associations between clients' ratings of TMC and ratings of the working alliance, therapist empathy, and satisfaction. Clients' combined rating of therapist expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness were not associated with their TMC ratings but were significantly associated with therapists' self-appraised TMC ratings. Therapists' ratings of their TMC were associated with their ratings of the working alliance and satisfaction with their work. Results are discussed in the context of the relevant literature, as are implications for training and research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A cost/benefit analysis of the interpersonal process recall technique.

Examined interpersonal process recall (IPR), a supervisory technique, by a cost-benefit analysis. Cost was defined as the possible inhibitory effects on client self-exploration of the use of IPR; benefit was defined as client satisfaction, increased supervisor ratings, and increased counselor empathy levels. Counselors were 36 master's level trainees, clients were 36 undergraduate psychology students, and supervisors were 6 doctoral students in counseling. The IPR treatment consisted of 3 videotaped interviews followed by client, counselor, or mutual recall. The comparison treatment consisted of 3 audiotaped interviews followed by traditional supervision. Results indicate that IPR, when compared to traditional supervision, did not produce differential effects on counselors' empathy level, client satisfaction, supervisor ratings, or clients' self-reported inhibition. Method of supervision, however, did effect significant change in clients' level of self-exploration over time. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)