A Step-by-Step Tutorial for Developing a Feedback-Based Training for Empathic Accuracy

This tutorial provides a step-by-step guide for developing and testing feedback-based trainings for empathic accuracy—the ability to correctly infer another person's thoughts and feelings. We outline our procedural approach across three phases: (1) study preparation, including guidelines for building a standardized stimulus database; (2) data collection, encompassing the training program setup and testing procedures; and (3) data coding of empathic accuracy and target readability (an important control variable when testing empathic accuracy). The protocol builds on the Standard Stimulus Paradigm and extends it through the inclusion of immediate corrective feedback and exposure to multiple unfamiliar targets. This extension enables assessments of training effects and their generalizability to unfamiliar targets. As proof of concept, we report data from N = 195 participants in which this protocol successfully produced feedback-based training effects, providing preliminary support for the protocol’s validity and feasibility. Stimulus materials and procedural resources are described in sufficient detail to support transparent replication. The framework is intended for use in experimental research on empathic accuracy training; once effectiveness has been established, simplified versions may also serve as evidence-based training programs in applied settings.