Poziom empatii u studentów kierunków medycznych, psychologii i informatyki
The Level of Empathy of Students of Medical, Psychology and Computer Science

Summary/Abstract: Empathy is considered a vital trait in helping professions such as doctor, psychologist or nurse, while less important in technical professions such as IT specialist. The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in empathy level between medical (doctor and nursing), psychology and computer science students. For this purpose, 243 students of psychology, nursing, medicine, and computer science completed an online survey containing a short version of the Empathy Quotient (EQ-Short) questionnaire which measures affective and cognitive empathy. Results showed that psychology, medical and computer science students differed significantly in their level of empathy. Psychology students scored highest, medical majors scored medium, and computer science students scored lowest. On average, women, regardless of the field of study, had a higher empathy trait level than men, which was in line with previous studies regarding gender differences in this trait. Students of helping professions: psychology and medical faculties showed a higher level of empathy than computer science students. Discrepancies in existing data suggest a need for further research regarding differences in empathy levels and its changes in psychology and medical students.

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