Mediating Role of Empathy in the Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Thinking Styles

Abstract

The aim of the study is to examine the mediating role of empathy in the relationship between rational and experiential thinking styles and was designed in a correlational design. The sample of the study consists of 593 university students who were determined by simple random sampling method. Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire–Short Form, Empathy Quotient Scale, and Rational-Experiential Thinking Styles Scale were used for data collection. Bootstrapping method and Pearson product moments analysis were used to analyze the mediating role of empathy. Results indicated that there are significant relationships between the variables. In addition, empathy is a full mediation in the relationship between emotional intelligence and experiential thinking style and empathy is a partial mediation in the relationship between emotional intelligence and rational thinking style.

Keywords

• thinking styles
• empathy
• emotional intelligence
• bootstrapping