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Table 2 Rotated factor coefficients by item means, standard deviations, and item–total score correlations of the JSE-S

From: Empathy in Chinese eight-year medical program students: differences by school year, educational stage, and future career preference

Item† Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4 Mean (SD) rit
Physicians should try to think like their patients in order to render better care. (17) .72 .15 −.09 .05 5.3 (1.3) .61**
Physicians should try to stand in their patients’ shoes when providing care to them. (9) .71 .08 .21 −.01 5.5 (1.3) .63**
Physicians’ understanding of the emotional status of their patients, as well as that of their families, is one important component of the physician–patient relationship. (16) .70 .24 −.02 .28 5.7 (1.1) .67**
I believe that empathy is an important therapeutic factor in the medical treatment. (20) .66 .24 .03 .25 5.5 (1.2) .66**
Understanding body language is as important as verbal communication in physician–patient relationships. (4) .61 .09 .17 .09 5.8 (1.2) .57**
Patients feel better when their physicians understand their feelings. (2) .61 .06 .04 .14 6.0 (1.1) .53**
A physician’s sense of humor contributes to a better clinical outcome. (5) .60 .04 .23 .12 5.4 (1.4) .57**
Physicians should try to understand what is going on in their patients’ minds by paying attention to their nonverbal cues and body language. (13) .58 .21 .05 −.08 5.3 (1.2) .55**
Patients value a physician’s understanding of their feelings which is therapeutic in its own right. (10) .56 .22 .09 −.06 5.5 (1.2) .56**
Empathy is a therapeutic skill without which the physician’s success is limited. (15) .55 .19 −.21 .09 4.6 (1.5) .50**
Physicians’ understanding of their patients’ feelings and the feelings of their patients’ families does not influence medical or surgical treatment. (1) −.03 .68 .01 −.02 5.2 (1.6) .38**
Asking patients about what is happening in their personal lives is not helpful in understanding their physical complaints. (12) .28 .64 .13 .30 5.5 (1.2) .62**
Attentiveness to patients’ personal experiences does not influence treatment outcomes. (8) .19 .61 .03 −.24 5.0 (1.5) .46**
Patients’ illnesses can be cured only by medical or surgical treatment; therefore, physicians’ emotional ties with their patients do not have a significant influence in medical or surgical treatment. (11) .46 .60 .11 .22 5.6 (1.2) .71**
I believe that emotion has no place in the treatment of medical illness. (14) .48 .55 .13 .15 5.6 (1.3) .70**
Attention to patients’ emotions is not important in history taking. (7) .42 .52 .21 .17 5.8 (1.2) .67**
It is difficult for a physician to view things from patients’ perspectives. (3) .10 .05 .86 .06 4.1 (1.5) .39**
Because people are different, it is difficult to see things from patients’ perspectives. (6) .13 .20 .85 −.07 4.3 (1.5) .48**
I do not enjoy reading nonmedical literature or the arts. (19) .06 .20 .17 .71 5.8 (1.4) .36**
Physicians should not allow themselves to be influenced by strong personal bonds between their patients and their family members. (18) −.20 .12 .20 −.64 2.7 (1.4) −.05
Eigenvalue 4.78 2.53 1.82 1.38   
% Variance 24 13 9 7   
  1. † Items are listed by the order of magnitude of the factor coefficients within each factor. Factor loadings equal to or greater than 0.4 are in bold. Numbers in parentheses represent the sequence of the items in the actual scale. Items were scored using a seven-point Likert-type scale
  2. rit = Item-total score correlation. ** Indicates statistical significance levels p < .01
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