Scale Analysis

The Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale (BEES-30) was developed by Mehrabian in 1997 to update, improve, and replace the original scale created by Mehrabian and Epstein in 1972. It measures emotional empathy, which is defined as the tendency of an individual to share the emotions of others.

Scale Goal

The BEES-30 was created with the purpose of measuring a person’s tendency to feel emotional empathy with others. Specifically, it assesses the ability to feel whatever the other person feels.

Scoring of Questions

Participants are asked to respond by considering how emotionally affected each statement makes them. The BEES includes 30 items, 15 of which are positive statements and 15 negative ones. Responses are made on a 9-point Likert scale, ranging from -4 (strongly agree) to 4 (strongly disagree).

Statistical Analysis

The BEES-30 generates a total score as the algebraic difference between the sum of the
scores assigned to the positively worded items and the sum of the scores for the negative items. The range of scores is from -36 to 36, with higher values indicating higher levels of emotional empathy.

Reliability and Validity

The BEES-30 has proven to be internally consistent (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.83), with high overall consistency and acceptable reliability over a 6-week test-retest period (r = 0.77). It also shows a positive correlation of 0.77 with the original version of the scale.

Bibliography

Mehrabian, A. (1997). Relations among personality scales of aggression, violence, and empathy: Validational evidence bearing on the Risk of Eruptive Violence Scale. Aggressive Behavior: Official Journal of the International Society for Research on Aggression, 23(6), 433-445.

For the development and analysis of research data based on the above scale, and for further information, contact the DatAnalysis team!

Tags: Balance, Empathy