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Cognitive vs Affective, What Type of Empathy You Have? Free Online Mental Health Psychological Empathy Self-Assessment and Empathy Quotient Test With Scientifically Validated QCAE Instrument

Measure your Empathy with Lyfas

Context

Although we all have an understanding of what empathy means, there is no general agreement on a definition sufficient for scientific inquiry. The main problem in constructing a widely accepted definition of empathy arises from the debate about whether empathy involves recognizing emotion or experiencing it or both.
With Youtube being flooded with so many self-proclaimed empaths, and so-called super empaths, the subject of empathy has lost its scientific and clinical definitions. Everyone wants to believe that he/she is more empathetic than the other person. Most do not even have a basic understanding of what exactly is empathy, what are its components, and how we perceive and react to it. Is empathy an emotion? Is empathy a behavior? Are empathy neurological or physiological aspects?

Empathy and Type of Empathy

Blair (2005) distinguished three main systems that are grouped together in the term empathy:
1. cognitive empathy,
2. emotional empathy,
and
3. motor empathy.
According to Blair, cognitive empathy is used where the individual represents the internal mental state of another individual, so equating cognitive empathy to the theory of mind (ToM).
With regard to emotional empathy, Blair distinguishes two main forms: a response to the emotional display of another person (facial and vocal expressions and body movements) and a response to other emotional stimuli (e.g., a response to a phrase such as “Adam just lost his house”).
Motor empathy is described as the action of mirroring the motor responses of the observed person. According to Spinella (2005), the cognitive components of empathy involve the ability to mentally represent other peoples’ mental processes, whereas the emotional components involve the actual emotional reaction.
Ultimately Researchers have universally agreed to two major forms of Empathy:
1. Cognitive Empathy(Structural Empathy)
2. Affective Empathy(Functional Empathy)
Cognitive empathy refers to the ability to recognize and understand another’s mental state (part of the theory of mind (ToM) or mentalizing) while affective empathy is the ability to share the feelings of others, without any direct emotional stimulation to oneself.

Reference

Reniers, Renate & Corcoran, Rhiannon & Drake, Richard & Shryane, Nick & Völlm, Birgit. (2011). The QCAE: a Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy. Journal of personality assessment. 93. 84-95. 10.1080/00223891.2010.528484.

Reliability and Accuracy of the Instrument

As per the detailed study on the reliability of this scale The Cronbachs alpha coecients for the total scale, the cognitive empathy component, and the aective empathy component were 0.86, 0.89, and 0.60 respectively.
On the other hand, the ve subscales of the QCAE (Perspective Taking, Online Simulation, Emotional Contagion, Proximal Responsivity, and Peripheral Responsivity) yielded the Cronbachs alpha coecients of 0.86, 0.76, 0.64, 0.63 and 0.37 respectively.
Test–retest reliability: r = .84 (3 weeks) (Powell & Roberts, 2017)
Internal consistency: The final structure of the QCAE suggested 5 factors with perspective-taking an online simulation (α = .85 and .83) representing Cognitive Empathy and Emotional contagion, Peripheral responsivity, and Proximal responsivity (α = .72, .65 and
.70) representing Affective Empathy.
Independent research has suggested lower internal consistency for some subscales e.g. Peripheral responsivity α = .28. (Horan et al., 2015)
and suggested the two factors (cognitive and affective) are best for stability (α = .90 and .77 respectively) (Horan et al., 2015) (also estimated as α = 0.89 and 0.78 (Powell, 2018).
Thus, this instrument is rigorously scientifically validated by the author, and by several independent researchers for different populations, gender, age, and other social and demographic groups. In all the experiments and studies the reliability of the test was found to be over 75%
Thus, this test can assess your empathy scale with an accuracy of 75% to 90%.

How to Use this Test?

This is a screening tool. You can check your empathy scale and score and identify the areas of concern and where you can improve. You can then use some of our suggestions in enhancing empathy, follow the suggestions, take measures, improve and then again take this test to see the changes that are happening in the scales.

Disclaimer:

This QCAE online free test is provided for self-assessment and understanding your empathy levels. It is always advisable to take a professional psychologist/psychiatrist/mental health professional to interpret the result. This test is a screening tool and must not be used for any diagnosis purpose. No medicine can be prescribed based on the results of the test. This test is provided as-is. Acculi Labs and Lyfas take no responsibility for the harm arising from using this test. By taking this test, you agree to not hold Lyfas and Acculi Labs liable for any damage or injury including mental stress or trauma.

Cite This Test

Lyfas Life Care (March 29, 2024) Rupam Das, Cognitive vs Affective, What Type of Empathy You Have? Free Online Mental Health Psychological Empathy Self-Assessment and Empathy Quotient Test With Scientifically Validated QCAE Instrument. Retrieved from https://lyfas.com/test/cognitive-vs-affective-what-type-of-empathy-you-have-free-online-mental-health-psychological-empathy-self-assessment-and-empathy-quotient-test-with-scientifically-validated-qcae-instrument/.
Rupam Das,"Cognitive vs Affective, What Type of Empathy You Have? Free Online Mental Health Psychological Empathy Self-Assessment and Empathy Quotient Test With Scientifically Validated QCAE Instrument." Lyfas Life Care - March 29, 2024, https://lyfas.com/test/cognitive-vs-affective-what-type-of-empathy-you-have-free-online-mental-health-psychological-empathy-self-assessment-and-empathy-quotient-test-with-scientifically-validated-qcae-instrument/
Lyfas Life Care February 10, 2022 Rupam Das, Cognitive vs Affective, What Type of Empathy You Have? Free Online Mental Health Psychological Empathy Self-Assessment and Empathy Quotient Test With Scientifically Validated QCAE Instrument., viewed March 29, 2024,<https://lyfas.com/test/cognitive-vs-affective-what-type-of-empathy-you-have-free-online-mental-health-psychological-empathy-self-assessment-and-empathy-quotient-test-with-scientifically-validated-qcae-instrument/>
Lyfas Life Care - Rupam Das,Cognitive vs Affective, What Type of Empathy You Have? Free Online Mental Health Psychological Empathy Self-Assessment and Empathy Quotient Test With Scientifically Validated QCAE Instrument. [Internet]. [Accessed March 29, 2024]. Available from: https://lyfas.com/test/cognitive-vs-affective-what-type-of-empathy-you-have-free-online-mental-health-psychological-empathy-self-assessment-and-empathy-quotient-test-with-scientifically-validated-qcae-instrument/
Rupam Das,"Cognitive vs Affective, What Type of Empathy You Have? Free Online Mental Health Psychological Empathy Self-Assessment and Empathy Quotient Test With Scientifically Validated QCAE Instrument." Lyfas Life Care - Accessed March 29, 2024. https://lyfas.com/test/cognitive-vs-affective-what-type-of-empathy-you-have-free-online-mental-health-psychological-empathy-self-assessment-and-empathy-quotient-test-with-scientifically-validated-qcae-instrument/
Rupam Das,"Cognitive vs Affective, What Type of Empathy You Have? Free Online Mental Health Psychological Empathy Self-Assessment and Empathy Quotient Test With Scientifically Validated QCAE Instrument." Lyfas Life Care [Online]. Available: https://lyfas.com/test/cognitive-vs-affective-what-type-of-empathy-you-have-free-online-mental-health-psychological-empathy-self-assessment-and-empathy-quotient-test-with-scientifically-validated-qcae-instrument/. [Accessed: March 29, 2024]

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