Measuring Empathic Accuracy With Daily Diary Data

1
Measuring Empathic Accuracy With Daily Diary Data
Shonali Sashikant, Maryhope Howland, Adeena
Gabriel Eshkol Rafaeli, Barnard College,
Columbia University

• Participants
• 37 couples, cohabiting for a minimum of 6
  months.
• Median age 28 years median length of
  relationship 3.3 years.

• Daily Diary Method
• Both members of each dyad completed daily
  electronic questionnaires on their moods and
  relationship events.
• Subjects completed morning and evening portions
  of the diary daily for 3 weeks.

• Measures
• Perceivers completed depression, anger, anxiety,
  vigor, and efficacy items adapted from Profile of
  Mood States (Lorr McNair, 1971) for their
  partner (target), and partners completed
  identical items for themselves.

The longitudinal daily diary data collected in
the real-world allows for a uniquely dynamic
investigation of Empathic Accuracy, an area of
research in which there is increasing interest
and already many compelling findings. Empathic
accuracy (EA) has been defined as a perceivers
ability to accurately infer the thoughts and
feelings of another (Ickes et al., 1995).
Conclusions

• Indices Across Emotions
• Although the mean bias for all emotions is close
  to zero, discrepancy varies between negative and
  positive emotions there is a greater range of
  bias and discrepancy in former than in the
  latter. Bias in one negative emotion co-occurs
  with bias in the other positive emotion the same
  is true for negative emotions. Finally,
  overestimation of negative emotions is related to
  underestimation of positive emotions.
• Correlations were generally positive, indicating
  some accuracy anger, the one outwardly directed
  emotion, obtained the highest correlational
  accuracy.
• A greater proportion of presence accuracy was
  accounted for by hits than by correct rejections
  in the positive emotions the opposite was true
  in the negative emotions. This suggests a need to
  consider base rates in hits for any given
  emotion.

123451.Bias-.156.07.00.242. Discrepancy-.35-.
31-.403. Correlation.29.754.
Hits.245. Pattern
Example Participants Depression

• Introduction Background
• Operationalization and calculation of EA have
  varied widely across studies. Researchers have
  looked at a variety of mood and emotion measures
  ranging from relationship feelings to job
  satisfaction (Kenny Acitelli, 2001
  Pietromonaco, Rook, Lewis, 1992) , as well as
  thought contents (Ickes, Stinson Bissonette,
  Garcia 1990).
• Originally, empathic accuracy and other versions
  of perceptual accuracy were studied
  cross-sectionally with one-time questionnaires
  (Kenny Acitelli, 2001), sometimes including
  brief lab interactions with a friend or stranger
  (Pietromonaco, Rook, Lewis, 1992).
• Ickes and colleagues later created a lab
  paradigm that quickly became the standard for
  studying EA. The Unstructured Dyadic Interaction
  Paradigm asks dyad members to infer one another's
  thoughts and feelings from a videotape of a
  spontaneous interaction. Most recently,
  researchers have begun to use daily diary data
  (Wilhelm Perrez, 2004).

M .39
M .39
r .712
M -.30
r .59
M 84.0 sd 15.1 N 70 accurate hits 5.0
M .01 sd .39 N 74 Kurtosis 6.01
M .28 sd .34 N 74
M 0.35 sd 0.36 N 39
M 66.7 sd 18.7 N 70 accurate hits 30.3
M .01 sd .39 N 74 Kurtosis 7.70
M 0.29 sd 0.37 N 65
M 0.31 sd 0.31 N 66
M .36 sd .33 N 74

• Emotions Across Indices
• For both of the positive emotions, the
  discrepancy index is associated with 3 of the 4
  alternative indices of EA.
• For the negative emotions, and particularly for
  anxiety and depression, the EA indices seem to
  tap into different elements of agreement/disagreem
  ent. Considering the base rates in neg. emotions,
  the divergence of EA indices is even more
  pronounced.
• For all emotions, the pattern and the
  correlation were indistinguishable from one
  another.

M 66.4 sd 16.1 N 70 accurate hits 57.5
M .01 sd .44 N 74 Kurtosis 2.67
M 0.28 sd 0.30 N 69
M .49 sd .30 N 74
M 0.28 sd 0.27 N 71
M -.04 sd .72 N 74 Kurtosis .04
M 69.3 sd 15.8 N 70 accurate hits 97.7
M 0.30 sd 0.34 N 70
M 0.31 sd 0.31 N 72
M .83 sd .34 N 74
M -.07 sd .84 N 74 Kurtosis
M 91 sd 18.9 N 70 accurate hits 97.3
M 0.16 sd 0.35 N 64
M 0.16 sd 0.27 N 60
M .82 sd .27 N 74
Our data suggest that EA indices are
statistically and theoretically distinct. Future
research will examine how these discrete elements
of EA are related to daily relationship events
(e.g., of support and hindrance), as well as to
overall indicators such as relationship
satisfaction and commitment.