Empathy Test

⏱ 7 minutes 📋 20 questions 🔒 Private & anonymous

How deeply do you connect with others' emotions? Measure your capacity for empathy, compassion and perspective-taking.

Based on the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) developed by Davis (1980), a multidimensional measure of empathy covering cognitive and affective components.
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The following statements describe how you typically feel and think in relation to other people. Rate how well each statement describes you in general.
Please answer all questions before submitting.
Question 1
I try to look at things from the other person's point of view before forming an opinion
Question 2
When I am upset with someone, I usually try to put myself in their shoes for a while
Question 3
Before criticising someone, I try to imagine how things would look from their perspective
Question 4
If I am sure I am right about something, I do not waste time listening to other people's arguments
Question 5
I believe that there are two sides to every question and try to consider both
Question 6
I often have tender, concerned feelings for people who are less fortunate than me
Question 7
When I see someone being taken advantage of, I feel protective towards them
Question 8
I would describe myself as a pretty soft-hearted person
Question 9
Sometimes I do not feel very sorry for other people when they are having problems
Question 10
Other people's misfortunes often disturb me quite a bit
Question 11
In emergency situations, I feel apprehensive and ill-at-ease
Question 12
Being in a tense emotional situation scares me
Question 13
When I see someone who badly needs help in an emergency, I go to pieces
Question 14
I sometimes feel helpless when I am in the middle of a very emotional situation
Question 15
When I watch a good film, I can easily put myself in the place of a lead character
Question 16
I really get involved with the feelings of the characters in a novel
Question 17
When I watch a film or play, I become very absorbed in the characters
Question 18
After seeing a play or film, I have felt as though I were one of the characters
Question 19
I daydream and fantasise, with some regularity, about things that might happen to me
Question 20
When I read an interesting story or novel, I imagine how I would feel if the events in the story were happening to me

Answer all 20 questions to see your results