Basic Empathy Scale (BES)

General Information on the Measure
Purpose of the measure

The Basic Empathy Scale (BES) measures affective and cognitive empathy.

Main constructs measured

Interpersonal competencies

Applicable grade levels

Adolescents

Publication year for the most recent version

2006

Year originally developed

2006

Related measures
Measure Administration
Respondent

Student

Method of administration

Paper/Pencil

Number of items

20

Item format

Five-point Likert-type scale

Administration time

No information is available in the references reviewed.

Available languages

English

Fee for use Access may be limited or unavailable
Credentials required for administration

None

Scoring
Overall score reporting

A total score is reported.

Subscore reporting

There are two subscores:

  • Cognitive
  • Affective empathy
Scoring procedures

The measure is self-scored.

Interpretive information

No information is available in the references reviewed.

Evidence of Technical Quality
Populations for which technical quality evidence has been collected

A sample of adolescents at three schools in Hertfordshire, UK (N=363) (Jolliffe et al., 2006).

Reliability evidence

Internal consistency (alpha) estimates ranged from 0.79 to 0.85 (Jolliffe et al., 2006).

Validity evidence
Evidence based on content
No information is available in the references reviewed.
Evidence based on response processes
No information is available in the references reviewed.
Evidence based on internal structure
Confirmatory factor analysis was used to support a two-factor structure. Consistent with prior research, there were significant differences between male and female scores on the BES (Jolliffe et al., 2006).
Evidence based on relations with other variables
BES scores correlated significantly with measures of intelligence, extraversion, agreeableness conscientiousness, and openness (Jolliffe et al., 2006).
Locating the Measure
Obtaining a copy of the measure pdfs.semanticscholar.org
References

Jolliffe, D., & Farrington, D. P. "Development and validation of the Basic Empathy Scale," Journal of Adolescence, Vol. 29, No. 4, 2006, pp. 589–611.

Notes

Measure summary updated October 3, 2018.