The article examines the study of empathy in psychology, which is a central indicator of interpersonal relationships and social conditions. The results of a comparative analysis of the level of empathy and its various aspects among university students were presented, as well as the features of empathic tendencies in both groups of students were identified and analyzed. Two stages of research are presented: theoretical and experimental.At the theoretical stage of the study, the essence of the concept of "empathic abilities" is revealed, various authors views on its interpretation are analyzed. At the experimental stage of the study, as a result of a diagnostic study, students with a low level of empathy were identified - third-year students who made up the experimental group.A total of 40 students took part in the study. An experimental study of the level of empathic tendencies was conducted by 3rd year students of the Kazakh National Pedagogical University named after Abay, majoring in Psychology and Information Systems. The purpose and objectives of the experiment are presented.The purpose of the study: to study the level of empathic tendencies of students. Research hypothesis: there are differences between the level of empathic tendencies of psychology students and software students. The hypothesis was confirmed using the Mann-Whitney U-test. There are differences in the level of empathy of students-psychologists and students-programmers, in particular, the level of empathy of students-psychologists is much higher than the level of empathy of students-programmers.