ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on assessing differences in empathic tendencies rather than abilities, with an emphasis on those instruments developed for use with adults. It reviews a number of methods for assessing individual differences in empathy-related constructs. By far the most popular means of assessing affective empathy levels in children has been the picture/story method, and in particular the Feshbach Affective Situations Test of Empathy (FASTE). Eisenberg-Berg and R. Lennon examined the evidence for sex differences among children on another measure of affective outcomes: the facial, gestural, and vocal reactions displayed to affective stimuli. Careful reviewers of role-taking measures have generally agreed that they address three distinct domains, namely: perceptual, cognitive, and affective role taking. The logic of the affective role-taking measures is simple: subjects are asked to infer the emotional state of another person who is depicted in a potentially emotional situation.
