Measures empathy
Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI)
How empathetic are people?
The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) is a 28-question measure that measures people’s tendency to experience empathy for others. The questions measure four variables including perspective taking, empathic concern, personal distress, and fantasy. This survey can be used to explore relationships between different aspects of empathy and variables like age, religiosity, or social connection. Past research suggests that people with certain personality traits, specifically more agreeableness and more conscientiousness, report more empathy (Melchers et al., 2016).
Resources:- Davis, M. H. (1980). A multidimensional approach to individual differences in empathy.
- Melchers, M. C., Li, M., Haas, B. W., Reuter, M., Bischoff, L., & Montag, C. (2016). Similar personality patterns are associated with empathy in four different countries. Frontiers in psychology, 7, 290.
Parameters
This survey cannot be tweaked.Disclaimer
Any languages that are currently offered besides English for this survey are not necessarily validated translations. This survey was translated using Google Translate and verified by members of the community.
What data is collected? How is it scored?
The following variables are recorded:
- IRI_perspective_taking: Higher scores mean participants tend to adopt others’ point of view in everyday life.
- IRI_empathic_concern: Higher scores mean participants tend to experience feelings of sympathy and compassion for people in unfortunate situations.
- IRI_personal_distress: Higher scores mean participants tend to experience distress and discomfort in response to distress in others.
- IRI_fantasy: Higher scores mean participants tend to imaginatively picture oneself in fictional situations.
Raw data: 28 questions broken into 4 variables (perspective taking, empathic concern, personal distress, and fantasy). Each variable's score ranges from 0-5.
Calculation:
Subscores are determined by adding the scores of the questions in each variable. The Likert scale ranges from 0 ("does not describe me well") to 4 (“describes me very well"). Because each variable has 7 questions, the sums of the scores will range from 0-28. If an item is reverse-scored (denoted with an R after the question number), the score is subtracted from 4. Specifically, if a question is reverse-scored, and the participant responds "does not describe me well", then this question will be scored as a 4 rather than 0.
- IRI_perspective_taking: Sum of questions 3R, 8, 11, 15R, 21, 25, 28
- IRI_empathic_concern: Sum of questions 2, 4R, 9, 14R, 18R, 20, 22
- IRI_personal_distress: Sum of questions 6, 10, 13R, 17, 19R, 24, 27
- IRI_fantasy: Sum of questions 1, 5, 7R, 12R, 16, 23, 26
Background
In this survey, you are asked about your thoughts and feelings about a variety of scenarios about interactions with other people.
What participants see before taking the survey
In this survey, you are asked about your thoughts and feelings about a variety of scenarios about interactions with other people.
What participants see after taking the survey
The questions measure four variables including perspective taking, empathic concern, personal distress, and fantasy. This survey can be used to explore relationships between different aspects of empathy and variables like age, religiosity, or social connection. Past research suggests that people with certain personality traits, specifically more agreeableness and more conscientiousness, report more empathy (Melchers et al., 2016).
Mobile compatible
Aggregate Variables
These data are automatically written to a csv file upon completion of the survey
more info
- IRI_perspective_taking
- IRI_empathic_concern
- IRI_personal_distress
- IRI_fantasy
Scoring
Subscores are determined by adding the scores of the questions in each variable. The Likert scale ranges from 0 ("does not describe me well") to 4 (“describes me very well"). Because each variable has 7 questions, the sums of the scores will range from 0-28. If an item is reverse-scored (denoted with an R after the question number), the score is subtracted from 4. Specifically, if a question is reverse-scored, and the participant responds "does not describe me well", then this question will be scored as a 4 rather than 0.
Format
This is a likert scale survey.
Duration
10 mins
Resources
- Davis, M. H. (1980). A multidimensional approach to individual differences in empathy.
- Melchers, M. C., Li, M., Haas, B. W., Reuter, M., Bischoff, L., & Montag, C. (2016). Similar personality patterns are associated with empathy in four different countries. Frontiers in psychology, 7, 290.