What the Empathy measures
Developed by Simon Baron-Cohen at the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge University, the Empathy Quotient (EQ) was designed to investigate the "Empathizing-Systemizing" theory of the human brain. Empathy in this context is strictly defined as the drive to identify another person's emotions and thoughts (Cognitive Empathy / Theory of Mind), and to respond to them with an appropriate emotion (Affective Empathy).
The dimensions it assesses
- Cognitive Empathy: The intellectual ability to "read the room," decode facial expressions, understand social subtext, and accurately guess what someone else is thinking (mentalizing).
- Affective Empathy: The involuntary emotional response to another's state—feeling sad when seeing someone cry, or feeling physical distress when witnessing someone in pain.
- Social Skills / Intuition: The spontaneous, effortless navigation of unwritten social rules.
Already have a Empathy score from somewhere else? Look it up without retaking the questionnaire.
What your score means
The EQ uses a unique clinical scoring system where only the "empathic" responses yield points. (For the 22-item Short form, max score is 44).
| Score | Interpretation | What it suggests |
|---|---|---|
| 0 – 14 | Low Empathy (ASC Range) | Scores in this range are highly typical of individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC). Indicates marked difficulty decoding unwritten social and emotional rules. |
| 15 – 22 | Below Average Empathy | Lower than the general population. Struggles to intuitively read a room, but may compensate through intellect and learned social scripts. |
| 23 – 34 | Average Empathy | Typical neurotypical empathy. The general female average is slightly higher than the general male average in this band. |
| 35 – 44 | High / Hyper-Empathy | Highly attuned to the emotional states of others. Excellent mediators, but at high risk for emotional burnout or 'empathy fatigue'. |
These ranges describe groups of people, not individuals. A score near a boundary is not meaningfully different from one just across it, and no range on this table is a diagnosis.
What to do with your result
- For Low Empathy (ASC Profile): Recognize that low cognitive empathy does not mean you lack compassion. You simply need explicit, verbalized communication. Ask partners and colleagues to state their feelings and needs directly, rather than relying on hints or body language.
- For High Empathy (Empathic Distress): High scorers are emotional sponges. You must practice "empathic differentiation"—the psychological ability to say, "That person is suffering, but that suffering is not mine." Establish rigid emotional boundaries to avoid burnout.
- Workplace Application: Low EQ individuals should be deployed in highly analytical, systemizing roles (engineering, data architecture). High EQ individuals excel in UX design, HR, and high-touch client management.
Common questions about the Empathy
- What does the Empathy measure?
- Measurement of clinical empathy, including both cognitive empathy (Theory of Mind) and affective empathy (emotional resonance).
- Can the Empathy diagnose me?
- No. Empathy is a screening questionnaire, not a diagnostic tool. It can flag that something may need a closer look. It cannot tell you what is causing it. It describes tendencies rather than diagnosing anything, and no result here is a condition or something to fix.
- How long does the Empathy take?
- 22 questions, which most people finish in 5 – 8 minutes. There is no time limit, and answering honestly matters more than answering quickly. The results page checks for patterns suggesting the questions were rushed.
- Is this Empathy test really free?
- Yes. No account, no email address, no payment. Psychometrics Today is funded by donations rather than advertising, which is also what allows us to publish instruments whose authors permit free but non-commercial use.
- Are my answers stored or shared?
- No. Your answers are scored inside your browser and never sent to us. There is no database of responses, because we never receive any. Closing the tab erases them, which is why results cannot be recovered afterwards.
- How often should I retake the Empathy?
- Traits and preferences move slowly, so retaking this every few months is more informative than retaking it often. Larger shifts usually follow a genuine change in circumstances.
- How accurate is the Empathy?
- Screening questionnaires are good at flagging that something merits attention and poor at establishing what it is. This one is sensitive to how you feel on the day you take it, and many instruments were validated on narrow populations whose cut-offs may not transfer cleanly to everyone. The references at the foot of this page are the primary sources.
Sources
Rights held by Autism Research Centre, University of Cambridge. Developed and validated by the researchers cited below.
- Baron-Cohen, S., & Wheelwright, S. (2004). The empathy quotient: an investigation of adults with Asperger syndrome or high functioning autism, and normal sex differences. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34(2), 163-175.
- Wakabayashi, A., Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Goldenfeld, N., Delaney, J., Fine, D., ... & Weil, L. (2006). Development of short forms of the Empathy Quotient (EQ-Short) and the Systemizing Quotient (SQ-Short). Personality and Individual Differences, 41(5), 929-940.
Licensing
free-permitted. Free for non-commercial research and educational use.