Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Feb:185:111238.
doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2021.111238. Epub 2021 Sep 17.

The Cognitive, Affective and Somatic Empathy Scales for Adults

Adrian Raine  1 , Frances R Chen  2 , Rebecca Waller  1
Affiliations

The Cognitive, Affective and Somatic Empathy Scales for Adults

Adrian Raine et al. Pers Individ Dif. 2022 Feb.

Abstract

The Cognitive, Affective and Somatic Empathy Scales (CASES) assess three forms of empathy, each with subscales for positive and negative empathy. The present study extends this child instrument to adults and examines its factor structure and construct validity. A secondary aim is to investigate the under-researched area of positive empathy. Community samples totaling 2,604 adults completed the CASES for adults, together with scales assessing construct validity. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the three-factor cognitive-affective-somatic model and a two-factor positive-negative empathy model. Findings were replicated in a second independent sample. Internal reliabilities ranged from .80 to .92. Individuals with higher psychopathy and stimulation-seeking scores were less impaired in their empathic reactions to positive relative to negative valence events, suggesting that they are relatively capable of responding emotionally to rewarding events. Somatic empathy was most strongly associated with pleasure in affective touch and with female > male gender differences. While proactive aggression was associated with reduced cognitive and affective empathy, reactive aggression was associated with increased empathy. Findings provide initial support for the utility of CASES for assessing different forms of empathy and suggest that the balance between positive and negative empathy could provide new insights into psychological traits.

Keywords: Empathy; affective; cognitive; motor; positive empathy; psychopathy; reactive aggression; somatic.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Interest: None

References

    1. Andreychik MR, & Lewis E. (2017). Will you help me to suffer less? How about to feel more joy? Positive and negative empathy are associated with different other-oriented motivations. Personality and Individual Differences, 105, 139–149.
    1. Barbor T, Higgins-Biddle J, Saunders J, & Montero M. (2001). AUDIT-the alcohol use disorders identification test. Guidelines for Use in Primary Care. Second Edition, WHO.
    1. Baron-Cohen S, Wheelwright S, Hill J, Raste Y, & Plumb I. (2001). The “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” test revised version: A study with normal adults, and adults with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 42(2), 241–251. - PubMed
    1. Blair RJR (2005). Responding to the emotions of others: Dissociating forms of empathy through the study of typical and psychiatric populations. Consciousness and Cognition, 14(4), 698–718. - PubMed
    1. Browne MW, & Cudeck R. (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In Bollen KA & Long JS (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 136–162). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.