Measuring general dispositions to feeling empathy and distress

The Vicarious Experience Scale (VES) is a new measure aimed at measuring the disposition to feeling empathy and personal distress. In Study 1, participants completed the VES along with the classic measure of Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). In Studies 2 and 3, participants observed the case of a person in need and subsequently reported the elicited emotions of empathy and personal distress; participants filled in the VES either a few minutes later (Study 2) or three months before the presentation of the case (Study 3). The results supported both the convergent validity of the VES and its capacity in a specific situation.