Empathy with a rape victim: the role of similarity of experience

The purpose of this study was to replicate and extend a prior investigation (Barnett, Tetreault, Esper, & Bristow, 1986) in order to clarify the role of similarity of experience in women's empathy with a rape victim. Women who were identified as having been raped rated themselves as more empathic with, and more similar to, a rape victim patient presented on videotape than did nonrape control subjects who had been matched on level of dispositional empathy. However, no difference was found between the two subject groups in their responses to a videotaped patient whose personal problems were unrelated to the experience of rape. In addition, subjects generally rated the rape victim patient as less emotionally stable than the patient whose personal problems were unrelated to rape. Alternative interpretations of the major finding of this study are discussed.