METHODOLOGICAL NOTES ON EMPATHY - FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS

This article updates and extends Jeannette Gagan's ''Methodological no tes on empathy,'' published in the January 1983 issue of ANS. The evol ving conceptualization of empathy as a complex, intrapsychic, and inte rpersonal process suggests that the inconclusiveness and apparent cont radictions of research to date might be substantially clarified by con sidering data from a multidimensional perspective. Attention to the co nceptual bases underlying diverse measurement approaches is key to und erstanding the data produced. Notwithstanding the limitations of their paradigms and models for nursing, the debates and knowledge accumulat ed in other disciplines can inform a broad range of inquiry relevant t o nursing.