Is fantasy an affective or cognitive part of empathy? An analysis of the Fantasy Scale in empathy research
The aim of this study was to examine whether fantasy should be categorized as a cognitive or affective factor in empathy measurement. The categorization is not uniform in the literature, so that an empirical test using a representative sample can provide clarity. Our sample consisted of 10,303 subjects aged between 10 and 88 years. We used the German version of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, the Saarbrücker Persönlichkeitsfragen SPF.