Development and validation of the valenced arousal empathy scale (VAES)

Despite decades of empathy research, existing measures often fail to capture its emotional complexity, particularly in terms of emotional valence (positive/negative) and arousal (high/low) in a short format, limiting both theoretical development and practical application. To address this gap, three studies were conducted, including an expert panel review and two surveys ( n = 608) with independent adult samples. These efforts led to the development and validation of the 8-item VAES. The VAES integrates cognitive and affective components of empathy while accounting for the valence and arousal of emotional experiences. The result is a three-dimensional reflective construct comprising cognitive empathy, positive affective empathy, and negative affective empathy, capturing a wide range of empathic experience. The nomological validity of the scale was supported by demonstrating theoretically consistent relationships between empathy, personality traits (extraversion, conscientiousness, and faith in humanity), and prosocial behavioural intention. This research offers a parsimonious, psychometrically sound, and theoretically grounded tool for advancing empathy research across psychology, marketing, and behavioural science.