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This self-assessment Empathy Quotient (EQ) , was originally developed by Simon Baron-Cohen and Sally Wheelwright . TraitProfiler provides an interactive digital version for educational, informational, and self-exploration purposes only.

Empathy Quotient (EQ)

Background

The Empathy Quotient (EQ) is a widely used self-report assessment designed to measure empathy, emotional understanding, social awareness, and the ability to recognize and respond to the emotions and perspectives of other people.
The EQ was originally developed by Simon Baron-Cohen and Sally Wheelwright in 2004 to help measure empathy differences in both general and clinical populations, particularly in autism-spectrum research and social cognition studies.
The questionnaire evaluates emotional responsiveness, cognitive empathy, social intuition, interpersonal sensitivity, emotional detachment, perspective-taking abilities, and awareness of social and emotional cues.
Research studies have demonstrated strong reliability and validity for the EQ across psychological assessment settings, autism-spectrum research, personality studies, healthcare environments, and social cognition research populations.

Psychological Domains Measured

Emotional Empathy
Measures emotional responsiveness, compassion, emotional concern, and emotional reactions to others’ experiences.
Cognitive Empathy
Measures understanding of other people’s thoughts, intentions, feelings, and mental perspectives.
Social Awareness
Measures recognition of social cues, awareness of social dynamics, and understanding of interpersonal situations.
Perspective Taking
Measures the ability to place oneself in another person’s situation and appreciate alternative viewpoints.
Emotional Responsiveness
Measures emotional reactions to distress, suffering, vulnerability, and emotional experiences of others.
Interpersonal Sensitivity
Measures awareness of how one’s words or actions emotionally affect other people.
Social Confidence
Measures comfort navigating conversations, social understanding, and social communication confidence.
Emotional Detachment
Measures emotional distance, reduced emotional involvement, and difficulty emotionally connecting with others.

The EQ is commonly used in psychology, psychiatry, autism-spectrum research, personality assessment, healthcare, and social cognition studies. The questionnaire is intended as a screening instrument and should not be used as a standalone diagnostic tool.

Procedure

This questionnaire is designed to be completed by adults and adolescents based on their usual emotional experiences, interpersonal behavior, and social understanding.

Participants select the response option that best describes how strongly they agree or disagree with each statement.

The assessment focuses on empathy, emotional awareness, social understanding, emotional responsiveness, interpersonal sensitivity, and perspective-taking abilities.

Participation

This assessment is intended for educational, screening, and research purposes only.

Results should not be considered a clinical diagnosis or substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric, or medical evaluation.

Scoring & Interpretation

Responses are scored according to empathy-related agreement patterns and emotional-social functioning.

Several items are reverse-scored to reflect reduced empathy, emotional detachment, or social-cognitive difficulties.

Higher scores generally indicate stronger empathy, emotional awareness, interpersonal understanding, and social responsiveness.

The EQ is commonly used as a screening tool in empathy research, autism-spectrum studies, personality assessment, and social cognition evaluation.

Empathy Quotient (EQ) Questionnaire

Instructions & Terms

Below is the Empathy Quotient (EQ), a digitally adapted 60- items self-assessment questionnaire. This assessment does not provide a clinical diagnosis, medical determination, or substitute for professional psychological evaluation.

Question 1 of 60 Social Awareness

I can easily tell if someone else wants to enter a conversation.


Question 2 of 60 Emotional Detachment

I prefer animals to humans.


Question 3 of 60 Social Awareness

I try to keep up with the current trends and fashions.


Question 4 of 60 Cognitive Empathy

I find it difficult to explain to others things that I understand easily, when they don’t understand it the first time.


Question 5 of 60 Emotional Responsiveness

I dream most nights.


Question 6 of 60 Emotional Empathy

I really enjoy caring for other people.


Question 7 of 60 Emotional Detachment

I try to solve my own problems rather than discussing them with others.


Question 8 of 60 Social Confidence

I find it hard to know what to do in a social situation.


Question 9 of 60 Emotional Responsiveness

I am at my best first thing in the morning.


Question 10 of 60 Interpersonal Sensitivity

People often tell me that I went too far in driving my point home in a discussion.


Question 11 of 60 Interpersonal Sensitivity

It doesn’t bother me too much if I am late meeting a friend.


Question 12 of 60 Emotional Detachment

Friendships and relationships are just too difficult, so I tend not to bother with them.


Question 13 of 60 Perspective Taking

I would never break a law, no matter how minor.


Question 14 of 60 Social Awareness

I often find it difficult to judge if something is rude or polite.


Question 15 of 60 Cognitive Empathy

In a conversation, I tend to focus on my own thoughts rather than on what my listener might be thinking.


Question 16 of 60 Emotional Responsiveness

I prefer practical jokes to verbal humor.


Question 17 of 60 Perspective Taking

I live life for today rather than the future.


Question 18 of 60 Emotional Empathy

When I was a child, I enjoyed cutting up worms to see what would happen.


Question 19 of 60 Social Awareness

I can pick up quickly if someone says one thing but means another.


Question 20 of 60 Perspective Taking

I tend to have very strong opinions about morality.


Question 21 of 60 Emotional Empathy

It is hard for me to see why some things upset people so much.


Question 22 of 60 Perspective Taking

I find it easy to put myself in somebody else’s shoes.


Question 23 of 60 Interpersonal Sensitivity

I think that good manners are the most important thing a parent can teach their child.


Question 24 of 60 Social Confidence

I like to do things on the spur of the moment.


Question 25 of 60 Cognitive Empathy

I am good at predicting how someone will feel.


Question 26 of 60 Social Awareness

I am quick to spot when someone in a group is feeling awkward or uncomfortable.


Question 27 of 60 Interpersonal Sensitivity

If I say something that someone else is offended by, I think that that’s their problem, not mine.


Question 28 of 60 Interpersonal Sensitivity

If anyone asked me if I liked their haircut, I would reply truthfully, even if I didn’t like it.


Question 29 of 60 Interpersonal Sensitivity

I can’t always see why someone should have felt offended by a remark.


Question 30 of 60 Social Confidence

People often tell me that I am very unpredictable.


Question 31 of 60 Social Confidence

I enjoy being the center of attention at any social gathering.


Question 32 of 60 Emotional Responsiveness

Seeing people cry doesn’t really upset me.


Question 33 of 60 Perspective Taking

I enjoy having discussions about politics.


Question 34 of 60 Interpersonal Sensitivity

I am very blunt, which some people take to be rudeness, even though this is unintentional.


Question 35 of 60 Social Confidence

I don’t find social situations confusing.


Question 36 of 60 Cognitive Empathy

Other people tell me I am good at understanding how they are feeling and what they are thinking.


Question 37 of 60 Perspective Taking

When I talk to people, I tend to talk about their experiences rather than my own.


Question 38 of 60 Emotional Empathy

It upsets me to see an animal in pain.


Question 39 of 60 Emotional Detachment

I am able to make decisions without being influenced by people’s feelings.


Question 40 of 60 Social Confidence

I can’t relax until I have done everything I had planned to do that day.


Question 41 of 60 Social Awareness

I can easily tell if someone else is interested or bored with what I am saying.


Question 42 of 60 Emotional Responsiveness

I get upset if I see people suffering on news programs.


Question 43 of 60 Emotional Empathy

Friends usually talk to me about their problems as they say that I am very understanding.


Question 44 of 60 Social Awareness

I can sense if I am intruding, even if the other person doesn’t tell me.


Question 45 of 60 Social Confidence

I often start new hobbies, but quickly become bored with them and move on to something else.


Question 46 of 60 Interpersonal Sensitivity

People sometimes tell me that I have gone too far with teasing.


Question 47 of 60 Emotional Responsiveness

I would be too nervous to go on a big rollercoaster.


Question 48 of 60 Interpersonal Sensitivity

Other people often say that I am insensitive, though I don’t always see why.


Question 49 of 60 Perspective Taking

If I see a stranger in a group, I think that it is up to them to make an effort to join in.


Question 50 of 60 Emotional Detachment

I usually stay emotionally detached when watching a film.


Question 51 of 60 Social Confidence

I like to be very organized in day-to-day life and often makes lists of the chores I have to do.


Question 52 of 60 Cognitive Empathy

I can tune into how someone else feels rapidly and intuitively.


Question 53 of 60 Social Confidence

I don’t like to take risks.


Question 54 of 60 Social Awareness

I can easily work out what another person might want to talk about.


Question 55 of 60 Cognitive Empathy

I can tell if someone is masking their true emotion.


Question 56 of 60 Perspective Taking

Before making a decision, I always weigh up the pros and cons.


Question 57 of 60 Social Awareness

I don’t consciously work out the rules of social situations.


Question 58 of 60 Cognitive Empathy

I am good at predicting what someone will do.


Question 59 of 60 Emotional Empathy

I tend to get emotionally involved with a friend’s problems.


Question 60 of 60 Perspective Taking

I can usually appreciate the other person’s viewpoint, even if I don’t agree with it.




Psychometric Norms

11
Participants
55%
Community Mean
2.9%
Sample SD
57%
Highest Observed Score
51%
Lowest Observed Score
2026–2026
Collection Period

Current normative data for theCurrent normative data for the Empathy Quotient (EQ) are derived from 11 anonymous participant responses collected through TraitProfiler between 2026 and 2026. All response data are collected anonymously and are intended exclusively for educational, psychometric, and non-commercial research purposes.

Sources
  1. Baron-Cohen, S., & Wheelwright, S. The Empathy Quotient: An investigation of adults with Asperger syndrome or high functioning autism, and normal sex differences. Journal of autism and developmental disorders vol. 34,2 (2004)