2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Board 370: Research Initiation in Engineering Formation: Literature Review and Research Plan for an Engineering Specific Empathy Scale

Presented at NSF Grantees Poster Session

Engineers are societal caregivers, solving problems for the betterment of society. However, both practitioners and students of engineering struggle to make concrete connections between empathy and their role as engineers. While general empathy scales exist, these scales do not describe empathy in specific engineering scenarios and other helping professions have unique empathy scales. To address both the empathetic nature of the engineering discipline and the lack of discipline specific empathy understanding, our research team has set out to create an engineering empathy scale (EES) funded by the National Science Foundation. Our research is guided by two research questions: How is empathy conceptually perceived, experienced, and shown in engineering specific situations? and Can engineering specific situations be used to measure empathy in engineering students, faculty, and practitioners? In this article, we present a systematic literature review of empathy in engineering and engineering education. Based on our selection criteria, we found 48 peer reviewed articles. Three themes of the articles emerged focusing on empathy in engineering: teaching and learning, design, and the role of empathy in engineering. We analyzed the articles to determine what areas of connection to the constructs of empathy and the current model of empathy in engineering are supported and which need more research to support. Lastly, we present our research plan to create and validate the EES, which will be aided by this literature review.

Authors

Dr. Emmabeth Parrish Vaughn Austin Peay State University [biography]

Dr. Emmabeth Vaughn is an Assistant Professor in the Physics, Engineering, and Astronomy Department at Austin Peay State University. Before join faculty at Austin Peay, she worked in industry as a Product Development Engineer for a commercial roofing manufacturer. She holds a bachelors degree from the University of Tennessee in Materials Science and Engineering. She earned her PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, where her thesis topic was Nanoparticle Diffusion in Polymer Networks. Her research interests include polymer physics, nanoparticle diffusion, and engineering and physics education.
Lily Skau Austin Peay State University [biography]

Lily Skau is an undergraduate student at Austin Peay State University pursuing a bachelor's degree in Engineering Physics and a minor in Mathematics and Sociology. She plans to graduate with her degree and minors in May of 2026 and enter the industry as a Mechanical Engineer.
Dr. Bobette Dawn Bouton http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3545-9308 Austin Peay State University [biography]

Dr. Bobette Bouton is an associate professor at Austin Peay State University. Her current area of research is socio-emotional development in the domain of empathy. She is a Deweyan Pragmatist who focuses on student-centered teaching and reflection. She also is working toward making higher education a more socially just and safe space for all and uses writing, speaking, and research to address each of these important aspects of her academic career.

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