Empathy dataset

The database for this study (Briganti et al. 2018; the same for the Braun study analysis) was composed of 1973 French-speaking students in several universities or schools for higher education in the following fields: engineering (31%), medicine (18%), nursing school (16%), economic sciences (15%), physiotherapy, (4%), psychology (11%), law school (4%) and dietetics (1%). The subjects were 17 to 25 years old (M = 19.6 years, SD = 1.6 years), 57% were females and 43% were males. Even though the full dataset was composed of 1973 participants, only 1270 answered the full questionnaire: missing data are handled using pairwise complete observations in estimating a Gaussian Graphical Model, meaning that all available information from every subject are used.

The feature set is composed of 28 items meant to assess the four following components: fantasy, perspective taking, empathic concern and personal distress. In the questionnaire, the items are mixed; reversed items (items 3, 4, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19) are present. Items are scored from 0 to 4, where “0” means “Doesn’t describe me very well” and “4” means “Describes me very well”; reverse-scoring is calculated afterwards. The questionnaires were anonymized. The reanalysis of the database in this retrospective study was approved by the ethical committee of the Erasmus Hospital.

Size: A dataset of size 1973*28 

Number of features: 28

Ground truth: No

Type of Graph: Mixed graph

The following gives the description of the variables:

Feature
FeatureLabel
Domain
Item meaning from Davis 1980

001
1FS
Green
I daydream and fantasize, with some regularity, about things that might happen to me.

002
2EC
Purple
I often have tender, concerned feelings for people less fortunate than me.

003
3PT_R
Yellow
I sometimes find it difficult to see things from the “other guy’s” point of view.

004
4EC_R
Purple
Sometimes I don’t feel very sorry for other people when they are having problems.

005
5FS
Green
I really get involved with the feelings of the characters in a novel.

006
6PD
Red
In emergency situations, I feel apprehensive and ill-at-ease.

007
7FS_R
Green
I am usually objective when I watch a movie or play, and I don’t often get completely caught up in it.(Reversed)

008
8PT
Yellow
I try to look at everybody’s side of a disagreement before I make a decision.

009
9EC
Purple
When I see someone being taken advantage of, I feel kind of protective towards them.

010
10PD
Red
I sometimes feel helpless when I am in the middle of a very emotional situation.

011
11PT
Yellow
sometimes try to understand my friends better by imagining how things look from their perspective

012
12FS_R
Green
Becoming extremely involved in a good book or movie is somewhat rare for me. (Reversed)

013
13PD_R
Red
When I see someone get hurt, I tend to remain calm. (Reversed)

014
14EC_R
Purple
Other people’s misfortunes do not usually disturb me a great deal. (Reversed)

015
15PT_R
Yellow
If I’m sure I’m right about something, I don’t waste much time listening to other people’s arguments. (Reversed)

016
16FS
Green
After seeing a play or movie, I have felt as though I were one of the characters.

017
17PD
Red
Being in a tense emotional situation scares me.

018
18EC_R
Purple
When I see someone being treated unfairly, I sometimes don’t feel very much pity for them. (Reversed)

019
19PD_R
Red
I am usually pretty effective in dealing with emergencies. (Reversed)

020
20FS
Green
I am often quite touched by things that I see happen.

021
21PT
Yellow
I believe that there are two sides to every question and try to look at them both.

022
22EC
Purple
I would describe myself as a pretty soft-hearted person.

023
23FS
Green
When I watch a good movie, I can very easily put myself in the place of a leading character.

024
24PD
Red
I tend to lose control during emergencies.

025
25PT
Yellow
When I’m upset at someone, I usually try to “put myself in his shoes” for a while.

026
26FS
Green
When I am reading an interesting story or novel, I imagine how I would feel if the events in the story were happening to me.

027
27PD
Red
When I see someone who badly needs help in an emergency, I go to pieces.

028
28PT
Yellow
Before criticizing somebody, I try to imagine how I would feel if I were in their place

More information about the dataset is contained in empathy_description.html file.