Final-year medical students posted in clinical oncology were randomly assigned to conditions for training and to baselines within each condition. Training conditions were identical in informational content and time requirements. Self-instructional training incorporated two videotapes developed for the study. Through the use of graphs and t-tests, data from the training conditions were analyzed separately, comparatively, and on the basis of overall training effectiveness across all eight subjects. Overall, majority of the students felt that the intervention influenced their level of empathy (78%), should be a standard part of medical school curriculums (67%), and would impact all physicians (80%). Faculty-supervised training was found to be more effective than selfinstructional training in increasing responsiveness as measured by (a) observational data from videotaped interviews, (b) patient and family member ratings of interviews, and (c) number of psychosocial needs recognized on medical student dictation reports. Results based on t-tests indicated overall use of training was effective in increasing (a) appropriate use of four interview micro skills, (b) patient and family member interview ratings, and (c) number of psychosocial needs recognized on dictation reports. Findings suggest that experiential learning methods are well received, feasible, and effective in increasing empathy in medical students and should become a standard part of medical school curriculums.