Table 2.

Item-test correlations for BES self-report.

		Item-test correlation
N∘	Item	Cognitive scale	Affective scale
1	My friend’s emotions don’t affect me much		0.20
2	After being with a friend who is sad about something, I usually feel sad		0.28
4	I get frightened when I watch characters in a good scary movie		0.12
5	I get caught up in other people’s feelings easily		0.49
7	I don’t become sad when I see other people crying		0.15
8	Other people’s feelings don’t bother me at all		0.27
11	I often become sad when watching sad things on TV or in films		0.31
13	Seeing a person who has been angered has no effect on my feelings		0.25
15	I tend to feel scared when I am with friends who are afraid		0.40
17	I often get swept up in my friend’s feelings		0.46
18	My friend’s unhappiness doesn’t make me feel anything		0.38
3	I can understand my friend’s happiness when s/he does well at something	0.26
6	I find it hard to know when my friends are frightened	0.29
9	When someone is feeling ‘down’ I can usually understand how s/he feels	0.36
10	I can usually work out when my friends are scared	0.36
12	I can often understand how people are feeling even before they tell me	0.44
14	I can usually work out when people are cheerful	0.46
16	I can usually realize quickly when a friend is angry	0.52
19	I am not usually aware of my friend’s feelings	0.42
20	I have trouble figuring out when my friends are happy	0.33