Indian Journal of Positive Psychology © 2016 Indian

Association of Health, Research and

Welfare
2016, 7(3), 269-278 ISSN-p-2229-4937e-2321
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karuna (compassion) scale

Psychometric assessment of the
Vijay Rangari Karuna Mehta
Department of Psychology Department of Psychology, Zakir Hussian
University of Delhi, Delhi College of Delhi, Delhi University
, Delhi

Thisstudywas conducted in two parts, part one textualanalysisof Tripitkaand development of theoryof Karuna
(Compassion) to answer the research question Psychological Dimensionsof Karuna (Compassion) in Buddhism
and its relationship with Peaceand Well-being. TheConcept of Karuna (Compassion) origin in pali language. The
etymology of the word Karuna, stemmed from the Buddhist literaturesin tripitka,Karuna (Compassion) defines,
Karuṇ ā is one of the fourth qualities of character significant of a human being who has attained enfranchisement of
heart (ceto vimutti), the desire of removing bane and sorrow and bringing that which good and welfare to one's
fellow men as the exalted state of compassion for all beings (all that is encompassed in the sphere of one's good
influence or all, directions,) .The360 DegreeCompass theoryof Karuna (Compassion) has been developed after
analysisof Buddhistliteratures, Thefinding of this part one research was that Karuna (compassion) has four
dimensions Wisdom, Morality , LovingKindness, and Equanimity were lived in the daytodayexperienceof the
peoples. Theeightyfour items was written out with reading several time jataka stories and literature review various
Buddhisttexts.

Keywords: karuna (compassion), wisdom, morality

, loving kindness, meditation

If psy chologyis viewed as the science of human mind, the Buddha Part-I would focus on conceptualization and assessment ofkaruna
could unarguablybe termed as the finest depth psy chologist humanity and Part- II would deal with investigating the correlates of karuna.
has seen.As compassionate teachers, he focused his entire teaching Abrief description of this part is given below.
primarilyon the later practical aspect. He often mentions that he only A brief account of the psychometric assessment of the
taught onlytwo things: there is unhappiness (duk k ha) and there is a way Compassion scale is presented along with the employedstatistical
out of this unhappiness. The root cause of unhappiness, he identified as and psychometrictechniques and the results obtained in this context.
the primeval ignorance Avij a, which create the notion of ' I'as individual The aim of this analysisis to present a thorough psychometric
entity , the doer, the feeler and the think er.As the mind gets evaluation of the Compassion scale and justify its use in the
progressivelypurified it awak ens from the illusion of personalityand subsequent phase of the present research and in future researches.
naturallyabides in Compassion (Karuna), loving k indness (Mairty ), However, before presenting the results, a brief analysisof the
Altruistic joy(Mudita) and Equanimity(Upek kha) to increase degree. characteristics of the sample is presented.
This research studyaddresses several maj or gaps in the psy chological
literatures.Two of these gaps are the use of y oung adult population Method
samples and the dearth of relevant longitudinal data. Karuna
compassion is virtue of an engaged Buddhist psy chology .Karuna has a Participants
more significant role in Buddhist literatures Reigning measurers of Inthe present analysis,data from a sample of 524 participants have
k aruna (compassion) have much theoretical grounding despite an been used. Thesample consisted of 201 males and 323 females. The
ex tensive literature on the contours of positive functioning. mean age of the sample is 20.18yearswith a standard deviation (SD)
Rational of the study of 4.79.Althoughthe sample age ranges from 16 to 47 years,97.9
percent sample is in the age range of 17 to 35years. Interms of
Thereis growing concerned in our societythat compassion is a dying
education, the sample consisted of 456 undergraduate students and
virtue, gradually being strangled by narcissism, competition,
68postgraduate and research students.Interms of residential
prejudice,and revenge.Unfortunatelypsychology has been more
background,there were 339 rural students and 185urban students.
concerned with negative aspect of life and neglected positive aspect.
It'sonlyrecentlythat under the banner of positive Psychology human
strength are being studied.
Objective of study
To analyze the Buddhisttextand developed conceptualizationand
construction of assessment tool of Buddhist concept of Karuna
(Compassion).
Procedure
Thestudyis undertakenin two parts.

Correspondence should be sent to Vijay Rangari

Department of Psychology, University of Delhi, Delhi Figure 5: Graph of Gender showing Sample Size (N= 524),
E-mail: vijaymilind@yahoo.co.in Mean and SD on Karuna Compassion scale total .
 RANGARI
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OFTHE KARUNA 270

Theitem analysisbased on the entire sample retained all 84 items,

the item-remaindercorrelations being in the range of .34 to .61.
Separateitem analyseswere also carried out for males and females,
following the suggestion of Kline (2000). Theitem analysisfor
females retained all 84 items, whereas in the item analysisfor males
two items (item no. S6, r =.19; item no.S25, r =.18) failed to reach
the preplanned cut-of f criterion of .20,although both these item-
remainder correlations were significant at .01 level.
Itwas preferred
to delete these two items from future analysesand carryout the
factor analyticscrutinyon the remaining 82 items.(Pleaserefer to
sec. 5for the detailed item analysisresults.)
Initial factor analyses for the eighty-two items of the
Figure 6: Graph of Residential Background showing Sample Size compassion scale
(N=524), Mean and SD on entire Compassion scale
Inthis section, the results of a series of initial factor analysescarried
on the Compassion scale are summarized.
The82 items, retained in item analysis,were further subjected to
factor analyticscrutiny .The82 x82 correlation matrixwas visually
examinedfor its suitabilityfor factor analysis. AlsoBartlett's test of
sphericity was computed, which yielded a test statistic (χ 2=
16058.83, df = 3321, p < .001), indicating that the obtained
correlation matrixsignificantlydeparted from the identitymatrix,
thus indicating its suitabilityfor factor analysis(Tabachnick&
Fidell,1989). Kaiser-Meyer -Olkin measure of sampling adequacy
(KMOindex)was also calculated which turned out to be .946 and
can be classified as 'marvelous' (Kaiser, 1974).
As an initial analysis, the eigenvalues of the unreduced
Figure 7: Graph of Educational Background showing Sample Size correlation matrixwere computed and Cattell'sscree plot was
(N), Mean and SD on entire Karuna Compassion scale obtained (Figure1). There is a verysharp breakimmediatelyafter
Initial item analyses of the compassion scale the first eigenvalue.Thusthe scree plot suggests a single-factor
solution.
The initial version of the Compassion scale had 84 items (see
AppendixA-1). Item-remainder correlations, also known as
corrected item-totalcorrelations, were used for carryingout item
analyses. It was decided to omitpoorest one item at each run of the
item analysisand continue this process till all the item-remainder
correlations reached a specific cut-of f point. Thecut-of f point of .20
was preferred. Thechoice of the cut-of f point of .20 would be in line
with Nunnally(1967), Nunnallyand Bernstein (2010) and Pope
(2009). Nunnally(1967, pp.263-264) recommended that items
having corrected item-total correlationof 0.20 be chosen and if the
number of such items are in excessof the required number of items,
items having higher correlations should be preferred; alternatively , if
there are less items crossing the cut-of f criterion of .20, the cut-of f
criterion could be relaxedsomewhat in order to get sufficient number
of items.Nunnallyand Bernstein remarkedthat items with item-
remainder correlation of .30 and above are discriminating items
(2010, pp. 305), but theywere quickto add that “sizable increments
Figure 1: Cattell's Scree Plot for the 82 Compassion Scale Items
in the reliabilitycan be achieved if there are numerous items which
Althoughthe scree plot suggested a single factor solution, both
are at least moderatelydiscriminating (r >0.20)” (2010, pp.306).
single-factorand two-factorsolutions were carefullyexamined. In
Pope(2009) recommended that the values of item-totalcorrelations
each case, both component model (principal components analysis)
“between 0 and 0.19 may indicate that the question is not
and common factor model (principal axes factoring) were
discriminating well, values between 0.2 and 0.39 indicate good
employed. Incase of the two-factorsolutions, both orthogonal
discrimination, and values 0.4 and above indicate very good
(varimaxand quartimax)and oblique (promax,k=4 and k=2; and
discrimination.”the Inlight of the above comments, it was planned
direct oblimin, tryingseveral values of δ)rotations were employed.
to employa cut-of f point of 0.20. Inaddition to item-remainder
To summarise, the varimaxrotation provided highlyfactorialy
correlations, the squared multiple correlation for each item was
complexsolution, manyitems loading on both the factors; unrotated
computed with all the remaining items.However, in making
two-factorsolution was more interpretable than the varimax-
decisions, item-remainder correlations were primarilyconsidered.
rotated two-factorsolution.The quartimaxrotation provided an
271 Indian Journal of Positive Psychology 2016, 7(3), 269-278

interpretable solution which resembled a single-factorsolution; Table 1: Factor Pattern Loadings for the Eighty* Items of the
even though the two factors were quartimax-rotated, onlyone item Compassion Scale
loaded more than .30 on factor 2. Thisjustifies the choice of a single-
Item FactorLoading h2 Item
No. FactorLoading h2
factor solution.Although varimaxrotation is the most popular
rotation method, P . Kline's remarks in this contextshould be noted. S1 .51 .256S24 .49 .239
Kline (2000, p.170) remarked,“Although Ihave advocated the use of S2 .44 .189S26 .46 .21
1
Varimaxor DirectObliminrotations in the factor analysisof items it S3 .38 .146S27 .50 .250
should be noted that if one test is being developed, the rotation, which S4 .43 .183S28 .45 .203
distributes the variance from the first general factor, is strictly S5 .36 .131S29 .48 .231
illogical in that we are lookingfor a general factor. Ofcourse, if more S7 .37 .134S30 .46 .216
than one scale is being developed this problem disappears”. Insuch S8 .41 .171S31 .39 .153
cases where the general factor is expected,the quartimaxrotation, S9 .48 .225S32 .50 .251
simplifyingthe rows, should be preferred to varimaxrotation which S10 .46 .215S33 .43 .186
simplifies the columns.All the oblique rotations employedin this S1
1 .48 .227S34 .56 .313
work(promax,k=4 and k=2 as well as direct oblimin) resulted in S12 .45 .205S35 .51 .263
excessively oblique solutions. Onthe contrary , the unrotated single- S13 .51 .264S38 .58 .334
factor solutions (principal components and principal axes)were S14 .35 .124S39 .58 .333
clearlyinterpretable.Infact, when the unrotated principal axes S15 .35 .123S40 .56 .315
solution was examined,it was noted that out of 82 items, all items S16 .41 .171S41 .61 .376
loaded on the first factor; onlytwo items (items S36 and S37) loaded S17 .51 .255S42 .52 .274
.30 or more on both factor one and factor two.Therefore,single- S18 .49 .238S43 .56 .308
factor principal axes factoring was repeated twice, first by S19 .52 .270S44 .49 .238
eliminating item S36 and then byeliminating item S37. Inthis S20 .41 .164S45 .50 .250
solution based on 80 items, if two factor solution were extracted,no S21 .47 .218S46 .49 .243
item loaded .30 or more on unrotated second factor.Thus,using 80 S22 .43 .188S47 .53 .284
items, single-factorsolution based on principal axesmethod has S23 .45 .200S48 .54 .292
been reported in the following section. S49 .49 .237S67 .49 .242
S50 .54 .289S68 .43 .183
Final factor analysis of eighty items of the compassion S51 .56 .318S69 .52 .272
scale S52 .59 .348S70 .55 .305
The80 x80 correlation matrixwas rescrutinizedfor its suitabilityfor S53 .58 .340S71 .52 .269
factor analysis. Bartlett's test of sphericityyieldeda test statistic (χ2= S54 .54 .287S72 .54 .289
15517.1 1,df=3160, p <.001), indicating that the obtained correlation S55 .58 .333S73 .57 .322
matrixsignificantlydeparted from the identitymatrix , thus indicating S56 .54 .287S74 .63 .392
its suitabilityfor factor analy sis (Tabachnick&Fidell, 1 989 ).Kaiser- S57 .59 .344S75 .53 .276
Mey er-Olk in measure of sampling adequacy(KMOindex ) turned out S58 .49 .244S76 .54 .290
to be .947and can be classified as ' marvelous' (Kaiser, 1 9 74). S59 .42 .172S77 .53 .280
S60 .42 .172S78 .53 .283
Asan initial analysis,the eigenvalues of the unreduced correlation
S61 .53 .284S79 .56 .310
matrixwere obtained and Cattell's scree plot was obtained (Figure2),
S62 .53 .275S80 .53 .279
which as expected from the discussion in the above section,
S63 .54 .289S81 .54 .286
suggested a single-factorsolution.Thesingle-factorsolution the
S64 .61 .369S82 .52 .273
first unrotated principal axisfactor is reported in Table 1.
S65 .53 .282S83 .46 .212
S66 .52 .268S84 .49 .235
Percentageof variance explained:
25.24
*Itemnumbers S6, S25, S36and S37omitted from the scale.
Itmaybe noted from Table 1that all the 80 items loaded above .3
on the first factor.Thecut-off criterion of .3 is in line with the
recommendation of Kline (2000, p.167), “Formost purposes
loadings greater than .3 can be regarded as significant”. The
principal axissingle-factorsolution explained25.24 percent of
variance.(Asexpected,the principal components solution yielded
the similar conclusions;the first principal component explained
26.16 percent of variance.)
Fornomenclature, the present factor can
be labeled as 'Compassion'.
Item analysis for the final version of the compassion
scale
Figure2:
Cattell's
ScreePlotfor the 80
Compassion ScaleItems Till now, four items have been eliminated;
item numbers S6
and S25
 RANGARI
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A/ PSYCHOMETRIC
ASSESSMENT
OFTHE KARUNA 272

at the item analysisstage and item numbers S36 and S37at the factor scale is .963 which is an 'excellent' value (George &Mallery , 2003),
analysisstage, due to their factorial complexity .Eightyitems were though expectedin view of the length of the Compassion scale.
retained in the final scale. Item analysis procedurewas repeated on Armor's theta for the full version is .964. Sincethe Compassion scale
this final version and the results are reported in Table 2. is a lengthyinstrument, the possibilityof developing two parallel
Theitem analysisbased on the entire sample, reported in Table 2, forms was explored.Following criteria were specified for
retained all 80 items, the item-remaindercorrelations being in the evaluating the parallel forms.
range of .35 to .61.values The of the squared multiple correlation ●Both the forms should have same variances and means.
between each of the retained item and the remaining items (i.e., the Norušis/SPSS Inc(1990) distinguished between parallel and
proportion of variance explainedin the item bythe remaining items) strict parallel models.Theformer model (parallel) requires the
appear to be satisfactory .Separateitem analyses,carried out for equalityof variances; the latter model (strict parallel) requires the
males and females, also retained all the 80 items. equalityof variances and means, both.
Table 2: Item Analysis of the Eighty Item Compassion Scale ●Boththe forms should have same internal consistencyreliability
coefficients.Inthis case, Cronbach'salpha and Armor's theta
Item Corrected Squared Item Corrected Squared would be employedas indices of internal consistency .
No. item-total multiple No. item-total multiple
●Both the formsshould have similar factorial composition. Since
correlation correlation correlation correlation
the single-factor solution, using principalaxis method, has been
S1 .49 .45 S23 .44 .38 accepted for the Compassion scale, this criterion would
S2 .43 .42 S24 .48 .40 operationallymean that the first principal axisfactor-scoresfor
S3 .38 .36 S26 .45 .36 the two forms should correlate prettyhigh.
S4 .42 .36 S27 .49 .39 ●The relative contributions of different variance components
S5 .36 .29 S28 .44 .39 should be comparable across the two forms.An additional
S7 .37 .33 S29 .47 .45 criterion for parallel forms, along with its evaluation, would be
S8 .41 .36 S30 .46 .38 offered in chapter #.
S9 .47 .40 S31 .39 .35
To develop the two parallel forms, item-wisemeans and standard
S10 .46 .38 S32 .49 .43
deviations would be needed and the same are presented in Table 3.
S1
1 .47 .43 S33 .42 .38
They would also be useful if one desires to develop the alternative
S12 .45 .37 S34 .55 .51
set of parallel forms.
S13 .51 .43 S35 .50 .43
S14 .35 .28 S38 .57 .53 Table 3: Item-wise means and standard deviations
S15 .35 .26 S39 .56 .48 Item
No. Mean SD Item
No. Mean SD
S16 .41 .39 S40 .55 .49
S17 .50 .39 S41 .60 .53 S1 4.90 1.34 S22 4.53 1.20
S18 .48 .46 S42 .51 .46 S2 4.81 1.34 S23 4.58 1.25
S19 .51 .46 S43 .54 .47 S3 4.63 1.30 S24 4.49 1.40
S20 .40 .30 S44 .48 .39 S4 4.69 1.31 S26 4.45 1.39
S21 .46 .41 S45 .49 .42 S5 4.58 1.35 S27 4.62 1.40
S22 .43 .36 S46 .48 .45 S7 4.51 1.29 S28 4.68 1.36
S47 .52 .45 S66 .51 .45 S8 4.67 1.45 S29 4.68 1.32
S48 .53 .43 S67 .48 .45 S9 5.05 1.18 S30 4.48 1.41
S49 .47 .45 S68 .42 .39 S10 4.68 1.29 S31 4.94 1.49
S50 .53 .45 S69 .51 .45 S1
1 4.70 1.29 S32 4.71 1.35
S51 .55 .50 S70 .54 .44 S12 4.63 1.26 S33 4.71 1.26
S52 .58 .46 S71 .51 .41 S13 4.81 1.31 S34 4.90 1.24
S53 .58 .49 S72 .53 .49 S14 4.39 1.43 S35 4.59 1.38
S54 .52 .44 S73 .56 .42 S15 4.13 1.54 S38 4.41 1.38
S55 .56 .49 S74 .61 .47 S16 4.50 1.42 S39 4.87 1.29
S56 .53 .48 S75 .51 .46 S17 5.01 1.32 S40 4.94 1.25
S57 .57 .47 S76 .52 .50 S18 5.14 1.29 S41 4.84 1.16
S58 .48 .46 S77 .52 .48 S19 5.19 1.26 S42 4.72 1.18
S59 .41 .37 S78 .52 .47 S20 4.69 1.41 S43 4.77 1.21
S60 .41 .33 S79 .55 .49 S21 4.79 1.23 S44 4.76 1.27
S61 .52 .46 S80 .52 .46 S45 4.65 1.36 S65 4.49 1.28
S62 .52 .42 S81 .52 .46 S46 4.80 1.27 S66 4.76 1.13
S63 .53 .47 S82 .51 .49 S47 4.75 1.15 S67 4.58 1.31
S64 .60 .51 S83 .45 .45 S48 4.51 1.31 S68 4.69 1.42
S65 .52 .43 S84 .48 .44 S49 4.57 1.38 S69 4.88 1.23
S50 4.64 1.19 S70 4.72 1.22
Reliability assessment and development of parallel forms S51 4.76 1.23 S71 4.64 1.26
Cronbach's
alpha for the full version (80
items) of the Compassion S52 4.77 1.24 S72 4.96 1.23
273 Indian Journal of Positive Psychology 2016, 7(3), 269-278

S53 4.60 1.35 S73 4.87 1.24 from form 1to form 2and vice versa. The
resulting versions were
S54 4.61 1.31 S74 4.75 1.17 labeled as FormAand FormB.
S55 4.50 1.29 S75 4.71 1.20 Theitems in FormAand FormBare indicated in Box1.
S56 4.58 1.26 S76 4.65 1.22
S57 4.74 1.27 S77 4.72 1.19 Box 1: Items in Form A and Form B
S58 4.69 1.20 S78 4.69 1.19 FORM
A FORM
B
S59 4.35 1.47 S79 4.59 1.26
S1,
S3,S5,
S8,S10,
S12,
S14,
S16,S2,
S4,S7,
S9,S1
1S13,
, S15,
S17,
S60 4.37 1.40 S80 4.65 1.31
S18,
S20,
S22,
S24,
s27,
S29,
S31,S19,
S21,
S23,
S26,
S28,
S30,
S32,
S61 4.51 1.40 S81 4.70 1.23
S33,
S35,
S39,
S41,
S43,
S45,
S47,S34,
S38,
S40,
S42,
S44,
S46,
S48,
S62 4.47 1.39 S82 4.70 1.24
S49,
S51,
S53,
S55,
S57,
S59,
S61,S50,
S52,
S54,
S56,
S58,
S60,
S62,
S63 4.70 1.17 S83 4.80 1.16
S63,
S67,
S69,
S71,
S73,
S75,
S77,S64,
S65,
S66,
S68,
S70,
S72,
S74,
S64 4.73 1.25 S84 5.06 1.24
S79,
S81,
S83,
S84. S76,
S78,
S80,
S82.
Initially
, the trial versions of the two parallel forms (tentatively
InTable 4,the means, SDs,Cronbach's alphas and Armor's
thetas
called as form 1and form 2)were developed.After carefully
for the two forms and full version of the Compassion scale are
examiningthe scale statistics for these forms and the item statistics,
provided.
the two trial versions were slightly revised by transferring one item

Table 4: Means, SDs, Cronbach's Alphas and Armor's Thetas for the Two Forms
and Full Version of the Compassion Scale
Form Mean SD Cronbach's
Alpha Armor's
Theta
Fullversion (80
items) 375.04
52.29 .963 .964
FormA 187.50
26.48 .926 .929
FormB 187.54
26.67 .930 .932

theory(CTT).
FormAand FormBcorrelated (r =.935), thus yieldinghighly
satisfactory parallel forms reliability , meeting the standard of
parallel form reliabilitysuggested byKline (2000, pp.1415). Itis
interesting to note that in the present work,Cronbach'salpha for
FormA, Cronbach's alpha for Form B and the correlation between
the two forms practicallymatch. Thus,the present findings demon-
strate the close correspondence between the CTT and real data. (The
principles of CTT , referred to here, are readily available in sources
likeNunnally &Bernstein,2010; Furr&Bacharach,2008, etc).
Form Aand FormBwere separatelyfactor analyzed, obtaining
for each form a principal axissingle-factorsolution and the
Graph 4: Showing Cronbach's Alphas for the Two Forms and Full corresponding factor score using regression method.The factor
Version of the Karuna (Compassion) Scale sample of N= 524, and scores of the two forms correlated .936. This value closely
N= 320. corresponds to the parallel form reliabilityand also justifiesthe
FromTable 4,it maybe noted that both the forms have similar claim to treat the two forms as parallel.
variances, means, Cronbach'salphas and Armor's thetas.To test FormAand FormB,both correlate .984 with the entire scale.
whether the two forms can be considered 'strictly parallel',a Factorscores of FormA and FormB correlated .983 and .985
goodness of fit test (Norušis/SPSS Inc,
1990) was employedwhich respectively with the fac tor score of the entire scale. This indicates
yieldeda chi square value of 0.22, df =2,which is veryfar from the that either of the form can be used as a substitute for the entire scale.
significant value (p =.896) indicating that the two forms can be Inaddition to the above reliabilityassessment, several other
considered as strictlyparallel. measures of internal consistency reliability were employed
FormAand FormB,both, have Cronbach's alphas of .926 and .930 including Guttman'sreliability coefficients and Armor'stheta
respectively .Considering the relationship between test-lengthand (1974). Allthese assessments are favorable. Aspecial mention needs
reliability(e.g.,formula 5.8, p. 92 , Aiken&Groth-Marnat, 2009), it to be made of the reliability assessment through Armor's theta, since
can mathematicallybe shown that if the 80-item version has an alpha it is based on the multivariate statistics, the first (largest) eigenvalue
coefficient of .963, the expectedalpha coefficient for the 40 items of the k x k correlationmatrix, k denoting the number of items in a
version would be .929. Thus,the obtained alpha coefficients for test. Armor's thetas turned out to be .964, .929 and .932 for the entire
FormAand FormBin the present workare as theyshould be as per Compassion scale, Form A and Form B respectively .As
the mathematical psychometricexpectationsof the classical test theoretically expected, the theta coefficients slightly exceed (at third
 RANGARI
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ASSESSMENT
OFTHE KARUNA 274

decimal point) the respective alpha coefficients.Thisfinding is in analysis(Cronbach, Gleser, Nanda, & Rajratnm, 1972),probably
line with a generalizationthat “coef
ficient θis less conservative than the most comprehensive treatment of the reliabilityissue.
Using80-
α” (Kline, 2005, p. 175). item version data of the Compssion scale, repeated measures
ANOV Awas performed. FollowingCronbach et al. (1972)
and Furr
Generalizability Analysis of the Compassion Scale and and Bacharach (2008), variance components and their relative
the Two Forms contributions towards total variance were workedout.Theresults
Abrief reference here is made to the results of the generalizability are presented in Table 5.

Table 5: ANOVA and Generalizability Results for the Compassion Scale (Entire)
Source df Sum of Mean Variance %
Squares Square (MS) Component Variance
Persons (p) 523 17875.727
34.179 0.41
1 24.1
Items (i) 79 1349.843
17.087 0.030 1.8
Residual (pi, e) 4131752320.794
01.266 1.26674.1
Total 4191971546.364 1.708100.0

Thelast column of Table 5indicated that as compared to items, .929respectively . These predictions agreed with the predictions of
persons contributed much large percentage of variance.Thisis the CTTand the actual alpha values reported earlier.The
expectedof a good measurement tool. Usinggeneralizability theory convergence between the two theories is, of course, documented
(Formula12.1, Furr&Bacharach,2008, p.297,notations modified), (e.g.
Cronbach et al., 1972) for single-facetinventories.
from variance components, the generalizability
coefficients for the Similaranalyseswere separatelydone for each of the two parallel
80-items version and the 40-items
version were predicted as .963and forms and the results are presented in Table 6.

Table 6: Variance Components and Their Relative Contributions for the Two Forms
Source FormA FormA
Variance Component % Variance Variance Component % Variance
Persons (p) 0.406 23.5 0.414 24.4
Items (i) 0.025 1.4 0.036 2.2
Residual (pi, e) 1.294 75.0 1.242 73.4
Total 1.725 100.0 1.692 100.0

Itmaybe noted from Table 6and the last two columns of Table 5that
the variance components and the percentages of variance contributed
by each of the three sources (persons, items, and residual) are quite
similar across the two forms and the entire Compassion scale.As
such, the two forms can be claimed as parallel.
Separate item analyses for the two parallel forms
Asa matter of precaution, item analysesemployingitem-remainder
correlations were again carried out for Form A and Form B
separately . All the concerned items were retained in the respective
forms at this stage also.
Theitem-remainder correlations ranged from
.33to .59 in the FormAand from .33 to .61
in the FormB.
Distribution of scores for the entire compassion scale
and the two parallel forms
Thescores on the entire Compassion scale, FormA and FormB
ranged from 174 to 469, 82 to 235, and 83 to 237 respectively.
However, 97.7 percent of the scores fell in the ranges of 263 to 469,
129 to 235, and 130 to 237 respectivelyfor the entire Compassion
scale, FormAand FormB. Thehistogram for the entire scale is
presented in Figure3.
Theobtained distribution reasonablyapproximatesthe normal
distribution, though it is somewhat negativelyskewedand a bit
leptokurtic.Theskewnessand kurtosisvalues for the entire scale are
-0.75 and 0.62 respectively.Theseskewnessand kurtosisvalues
should be considered in the acceptable range for practical purposes
in view of the suggested acceptable range of ±1.00 for skewness,
kurtosis,or both, by some data analysts(George &Mallery , 2003).
In spite ofsome negative skewness,there are onlyfive cases (0.95
percent of the sample size)with z<-3.00 on either the entire
Compassion scale or its two forms. Fewsuch cases are expectedin a
large sample of 524 (Tabachnick&Fidell,1989).
275 Indian Journal of Positive Psychology 2016, 7(3), 269-278

and FormBwere practicallysimilar, the histograms for the FormA

and FormBare not presented here. Theskewnessvalues for the
FormA and FormB are -.73 and -.78 respectively
.Thekurtosis
values for the FormA and FormB are .56 and .68 respectively
.
Needless to repeat that these values are well within the range of
±1.00.
Development of norms for the compassion scale
Atthe moment, for the prospective users there are three versions of
the Compassion scale (80 item version) and the two parallel forms
FormA and FormB. Hence for equating the three versions, the
equipercentiles for the three versions are provided can also be used
as a tentative normative data table providing norms in terms of
percentile ranks.
It
maybe noted from that, exceptfor the left extreme(PR =1),the
percentiles of the two forms match sufficientlywell.
Demographic variables and the scores on the karuna
(compassion) scales
To test whether the scores on the three Compassion scales differ as a
Figure 3: Histogram showing the Scores of the Compassion Scale function of the demographic variables likeGender, Residential
Entire backgroundand Education,three t-testshave been employed. The
Sincethe shapes of the distributions for the entire scale, FormA results of the t-tests
are presented in Table 8.

Table 8: Effects of Demographic Variables

6A. Gender
Scale Male Female t# p*
Mean SD N Mean SD N
Entire 377.10
48.71 201 373.76
54.44323 0.71 --
FormA 188.36
24.58 201 186.97
27.63323 0.58 --
FormB 188.75
25.26 201 186.79
27.53323 0.82 --
6B. Residential Background
Scale Urban Rural t# p*
Mean SD N Mean SD N
Entire 372.78
41.89 185 376.27
57.20339 0.73 --
FormA 186.49
21.58 185 188.06
28.83339 0.65 --
FormB 186.30
20.93 185 188.22
29.35339 0.79 --
6C. Education
Scale Low(UGStudents) High(PG
and Researchstudents) t# p*
Mean SD N Mean SD N
Entire 373.78
53.80 456 383.51
40.0568 1.43 --
FormA 186.86
27.19 456 191.79
20.8368 1.43 --
FormB 186.91
27.51 456 191.72
19.8268 1.39 --
#df =522
for all t values.
--denotes insignificant values.

Areference to Table 8 indicates thatall the t-values arestatistically
insignificant.Thus, the demographic variables like Gender,
Residentialbackgroundand Educationare unrelated with the scores
on the three Compassion scales.Thepoint-biserialcorrelations of
Gender, Residential background and Education with the three
Compassion scales were also obtained. Asexpected,in line with the
results of the t tests, the correlations were insignificant and ranged
from -.03 to .06 only .Theusual product moment correlation was
also found out between Ageand the three Compassion scales. Age
correlated .06 (p >.05) with the entire scale as well as with the two
forms.Thus,it seems that the Compassion scales are quiet robust
with respect to the differences due to demographic variables
 RANGARI
AND MEHT
A/ PSYCHOMETRIC
ASSESSMENT
OFTHE KARUNA 276

mentioned here. Thisalso justifiesthe development of norms based pub. London.

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and
LabhB (Eds.) The ocean of Buddhist wisdom ,vol.3, (pp.240)NewDelhi:New
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Muller, Max(1881)Ed. Sacred Book Of The East, (DavidRhys Trs.
by)Buddhist Suttas
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PSYCHOLOGICAL TEST OF KARUNA (COMPASSION)

Name -----------------------------------------------------------
Age -------------------------

Qualification: BA
/ MA/ RESEARCH SCHOLAR. Email /Contact No (Optional) ---------------

Instructions: Usethe following scale to indicate youragreement or disagreement with each statement.
Pleasecircle the number (using the 6point scale below)
that best describes yourcurrent thought, feeling and behaviour about the following statements.Thereare no right or wrong answers.Pleasebe as honest as
possible. Your response will be keptconfidential and used onlyfor research purpose.

Strongly
Disagree Disagree PartiallyDisagree Partially Agree Agree Strongly
Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6
1. Beingvirtuous is good to everyone. 1 2 3 4 5 6
2. Brotherhoodachieves peace in society . 1 2 3 4 5 6
3. Compassion applyto all societies, no matter how separated theyare in time and space. 1 2 3 4 5 6
4. Compassion brings me an inner strength. 1 2 3 4 5 6
5. Compassion extendsto everyone; even the person's attitude toward me is hostile or friendly
. 1 2 3 4 5 6
6. *Compassion helps me to see the enemy's point of view. 1 2 3 4 5 6
7. Compassion is based on profound equanimity . 1 2 3 4 5 6
8. Compassion must be unconditional. 1 2 3 4 5 6
9. Compassion recognises that others have right to live happylife just likeme. 1 2 3 4 5 6
10. Compassion springs from a clear recognition of the suffering of others. 1 2 3 4 5 6
277 Indian Journal of Positive Psychology 2016, 7(3), 269-278

1
1 Compassion Standfor the welfare of humanity . 1 2 3 4 5 6
12. Compassionate actions are instruments of happiness and glory . 1 2 3 4 5 6
13. Compassionate attitude toward others must reflect in mythoughts and actions. 1 2 3 4 5 6
14. Enemy provides me with an opportunityto practice tolerance. 1 2 3 4 5 6
15. Evilcan stop without harm single human being. 1 2 3 4 5 6
16. Feelingof empathywithout attachment is real compassion. 1 2 3 4 5 6
17. Forgiveness is great virtues. 1 2 3 4 5 6
18. Goodcompanyis alwaysbetter than bad company . 1 2 3 4 5 6
19. Goodthought can lead to well directed life. 1 2 3 4 5 6
20. Goodworkcan be done at youngerage rather than waiting for old age or proper time. 1 2 3 4 5 6
21. Gratitudeis important virtuous for peaceful life. 1 2 3 4 5 6
22. Iact compassionatelywith others. 1 2 3 4 5 6
23. Iaid and assist others to find their strength. 1 2 3 4 5 6
24. Iavoid all types' evils to live peaceful life. 1 2 3 4 5 6
25. *I avoid selfishness. 1 2 3 4 5 6
26. Icannot be compassionate unless I destroymyharmful impulses and desires. 1 2 3 4 5 6
27. Ido need compassion to develop courage and confidence. 1 2 3 4 5 6
28. Ido not answer with insult. 1 2 3 4 5 6
29. Ido not harm others. 1 2 3 4 5 6
30. Ido not react with anger. 1 2 3 4 5 6
31. Ido not takeanyintoxicantor wine. 1 2 3 4 5 6
32. Idonate moneyto needyor poor person. 1 2 3 4 5 6
33. Iexercisenon violence and practise patience. 1 2 3 4 5 6
34. Ihelp others in trouble. 1 2 3 4 5 6
35. Ijudge others without hate and impartially . 1 2 3 4 5 6
36. *I live happilywith myenemy . 1 2 3 4 5 6
37. *I resolve the problem in others life. 1 2 3 4 5 6
StronglyDisagree Disagree Partially Disagree Partially
Agree Agree Strongly
Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6
38. Isacrifice mypleasure for the well being of others. 1 2 3 4 5 6
39. Ihelp others in trouble without anyrealm of expectationin return. 1 2 3 4 5 6
40. Iknowthat good deeds lead awayfrom suffering and bring more satisfaction. 1 2 3 4 5 6
41. Ilive cordial and sympatheticwith others likebest friends. 1 2 3 4 5 6
42. Imaintain high moral character. 1 2 3 4 5 6
43. Iobserve kindnesstowards all creatures. 1 2 3 4 5 6
44. Ipromote nonviolence at the level of myfamilyas well as at world level. 1 2 3 4 5 6
45. Isee myfriend and enemyin need; I help both of them equally
. 1 2 3 4 5 6
46. Ispeaktruth. 1 2 3 4 5 6
47. Italkabout positive and good qualityof others. 1 2 3 4 5 6
48. Itryto remain neutral for blame and praise. 1 2 3 4 5 6
49. IfI show other people kindness,love, and respect, theywill respond in same. 1 2 3 4 5 6
50. Inner Peaceof mind is rooted in affection and compassion. 1 2 3 4 5 6
51. Kindness is essential to inner mental peace. 1 2 3 4 5 6
52. Letmycompassion increase, there are no boundaries to loving-kindness. 1 2 3 4 5 6
53. Lifeonce gone is hard to bring again, so I forgive everyoneeven myenemy . 1 2 3 4 5 6
54. Livea simple life so that others being imitate easily . 1 2 3 4 5 6
55. Livingcompassionate life can solve problem in world. 1 2 3 4 5 6
56. Lovingkindnessestablish friendlyrelationship with anyone even enemy . 1 2 3 4 5 6
57. Loving- kindnessis pillar of peaceful society . 1 2 3 4 5 6
58. Loving-kindness is based on sacrifice and service to others. 1 2 3 4 5 6
59. Lustlead to unhappylife. 1 2 3 4 5 6
60. Meditation or Samadhibring more happiness. 1 2 3 4 5 6
61. Nobleperson are those who never harm living beings. 1 2 3 4 5 6
62. Othershappiness is more important than myhappiness. 1 2 3 4 5 6
63. Respectpublic opinion to promote peace and harmony . 1 2 3 4 5 6
64. Righteousnessis directlyrelated to well being and happiness to everyone. 1 2 3 4 5 6
65. Sensualdesires give little pleasure and more painful in lone term. 1 2 3 4 5 6
66. Socialreform can achieve through education and compassion. 1 2 3 4 5 6
67. Spiritof benevolent and tolerance is extendsto all. 1 2 3 4 5 6
278 RANGARI
AND MEHT
A/ PSYCHOMETRIC
ASSESSMENT
OFTHE KARUNA

68.
Stealingis bad in all time. 1 2 3 4 5 6
69.
Theultimate source of myhappiness is mypeace of mind. 1 2 3 4 5 6
70.
ThroughLovingkindnessand mercyI can establish peace in the society
. 1 2 3 4 5 6
71.
Tolerance is best virtues for peace. 1 2 3 4 5 6
72.
Trust is most important to live peaceful life. 1 2 3 4 5 6
73.
Unity can solve all problems in life. 1 2 3 4 5 6
74.
Virtuous person are calm in his mind, speech and deed. 1 2 3 4 5 6
75.
Wisdom encourages the spirit of social co-operation and active participation in society
. 1 2 3 4 5 6
76.
Wise person encourage freedom and spirit of democratic process. 1 2 3 4 5 6
77.
Wise person familylive in harmonyand peace. 1 2 3 4 5 6
78.
Wise person is knownof their moral conduct. 1 2 3 4 5 6
79.
Wise person preach nonviolence and peace as a universal message. 1 2 3 4 5 6
80.
Wise person sacrifice small happiness to achieve the great happiness. 1 2 3 4 5 6
81.
Wise person understand right and wrong. 1 2 3 4 5 6
82.
With compassion mind, I provide more healing to others. 1 2 3 4 5 6
83.
Without compassion humanitybreaksdown. 1 2 3 4 5 6
84.
Without moralityhumans makemore danger to society . 1 2 3 4 5 6
*Item
No.S6
, S25,S36
and 37
omitted from scale
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