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Cited by 1,161Empathy and Medical EducationPsychometric Methodologies and TestingPersonality Traits and Psychology

The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire: scale development and initial validation of a factor-analytic solution to multiple empathy measures

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Spreng*, R. Nathan, McKinnon*, Margaret C., Mar, Raymond A., Levine, Brian·2009·Journal of Personality Assessment
DOI 10.1080/00223890802484381PMC PMC2775495
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Abstract

To formulate a parsimonious tool to assess empathy, we used factor analysis on a combination of self-report measures to examine consensus and developed a brief self-report measure of this common factor. The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ) represents empathy as a primarily emotional process. In 3 studies, the TEQ demonstrated strong convergent validity, correlating positively with behavioral measures of social decoding, self-report measures of empathy, and negatively with a measure of Autism symptomatology. Moreover, it exhibited good internal consistency and high test-retest reliability. The TEQ is a brief, reliable, and valid instrument for the assessment of empathy.

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  • The relation between the Eyes Test and self-report measures of Cognitive Empathy is mixed; the test has been shown to be both weakly negatively related and weakly positively related to self-reported cognitive empathy.

    “Likewise, the relation between the Eyes Test and self-report measures of Cognitive Empathy is mixed; the test has been shown to be both weakly negatively related (Spreng et al., 2009) and weakly positively related to self-reported cognitive empathy (Grove et al., 2014).”

    From A psychometric analysis of the reading the mind in the eyes test: toward a brief form for research and applied settings (2015) · cites this paper as Spreng et al., 2009

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Authors
Spreng*, R. N., McKinnon*, M. C., Mar, R. A., & Levine, B.
Affiliations
  • Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Centre
  • McMaster University
  • York University (CA)
  • University of Toronto (CA)
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Personality Assessment
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Published
2009-01
Volume
91
Issue
1
Pages
62-71
ISSN
  • 0022-3891 (ISSN-L)
  • 1532-7752
DOI
10.1080/00223890802484381
PMC
PMC2775495
OpenAlex
W2150781787
Cited by
1,161
References
12
Citations by year
2026: 105 · 2025: 129 · 2024: 127 · 2023: 111 · 2022: 128 · 2021: 116 · 2020: 103 · 2019: 77 · 2018: 57 · 2017: 52 · 2016: 52 · 2015: 33 · 2014: 29 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 10
FWCI
3.75
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Personality Assessment (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD42385-01, R01HD042385)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Empathy and Medical Education
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
Keywords
Toronto Empathy Questionnaire, empathy, scale development, factor analysis, self-report measures, convergent validity, autism symptomatology, affective empathy, test-retest reliability, internal consistency
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Autistic Disorder, Empathy, Factor Analysis, Statistical, Female, Humans, Male, Personality Assessment, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Psychometrics, Surveys and Questionnaires, Reproducibility of Results, Young Adult

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