Do Biometric Analyses and Empathy Training Predict the Development of Empathy?

Abstract

Many healthcare education programs recognize the importance of empathy in professional practice and, consequently, include empathy training in their curricula. Unfortunately, the literature has not yet demonstrated that empathy training consistently yields greater levels of empathy. This may partly stem from the fact that empathy is frequently measured using (valid and reliable) self-reported scales. These instruments provide a “snapshot” of a respondent’s empathy but provide minimal information about the development of empathy. Applying biometric analyses within the context of empathy training permits collecting additional data that may provide a more developmental evaluation of empathy training. This study empirically examines whether biometric measures are statistically significant predictors of empathy when employed within the context of health-related empathy training. We find that empathy training does not significantly impact self-reported levels of cognitive or affective empathy as measured. However, biometric information collected from individuals who completed empathy training does significantly predict affective (but not cognitive) empathy.