EMPATHIC ACCURACY - WHEN DOES THE PERCEIVER-TARGET RELATIONSHIP MAKE A DIFFERENCE

This study sought to determine whether a friend-observer who eavesdrop s on a friend-interactant's initial conversation with a stranger will be more accurate in inferring the friend-interactant's thoughts and fe elings than will either the stranger-interaction partner or a stranger -observer. The empirical answer in this case was 'no', suggesting that the meaning context established in the interactants' initial conversa tion was generic rather than esoteric (i.e. it did not uniquely benefi t the empathic accuracy of the friend-observer). The findings also rev ealed, however, that nearly half of the variance in the perceivers' em pathic accuracy scores was accounted for by differences in the overall 'readability' of the various targets; and that, contrary to the cultu ral stereotype regarding the superiority of 'women's intuition', there was no reliable sex difference in the perceivers' empathic accuracy s cores. The discussion focused on the conditions in which the hypothesi zed empathic advantage of the friend-observer might be evident.