# Empathy test-Are you empathetic?



## Kon (Oct 21, 2010)

This isn't long. I'm just trying to get a sense of how others with SAD are:

http://umichisr.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_bCvraMmZBCcov52&SVID

I score significantly below average on all empathy scales. Lowest 10% easily. I was surprised at first because I generally never hurt anybody and I never get in anybody's way and I tend to be pushed around as I'm not very assertive but I'm still very unempathetic. I guess there's no relationship between being a "good"/obedient kid and being empathetic.


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## BrokenStars (Dec 10, 2010)

45


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## sarafinanickelbocker (May 16, 2010)

*51/70 points* = around the *same* as participants


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## JupiterStarr (Nov 4, 2010)

68/70*

*I'm more empathetic than most of the participants. Even though I feel very uncomfortable around others and tend to avoid people I'm quite soft and caring on the inside.*

*


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## kev (Jan 28, 2005)

I started taking the test and then stopped because I didn't see the point. It's not a test of empathy, it's a test of how empathetic you view yourself as. If I finished, I would probably come out average or below.

Now, if I weren't on antidepressants, I would answer the questions differently. I have more empathy when I'm not medicated.


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## veron (Apr 29, 2009)

41.4% This was a difficult test to answer because many questions can be interpreted in many different ways. For example, "Sometimes I don't feel very sorry for other people when they are having problems." What people are we talking about here, and what kind of problems? This is very vague.


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## Arisa1536 (Dec 8, 2009)

53/70 
Being there, doing that and buying the preverbial t shirt seems to help when having empathy towards others predicaments


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## Annie K (Sep 24, 2008)

63/70 points - higher empathy than 90% of participants


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## Perfectionist (Mar 19, 2004)

66 wheee


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## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

37/70. Took it more than once and showed little variation and this was around the average. Highest 40.


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## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

Answers for my 38 score are below. Each item is scored out of 5, where 5 is the score for maximum empathy.

1. I often have tender, concerned feelings for people less fortunate than me. 4/5

2. Sometimes I don't feel very sorry for other people when they are having problems. 1/5

3. When I see someone being taken advantage of, I feel kind of protective towards them. 4/5

4. Other people's misfortunes do not usually disturb me a great deal. 2/5

5. When I see someone being treated unfairly, I sometimes don't feel very much pity for them. 4/5

6. I am often quite touched by things that I see happen. 2/5

7. I would describe myself as a pretty soft-hearted person. 4/5

8. I sometimes find it difficult to see things from the "other guy's" point of view. 2/5

9. I try to look at everybody's side of a disagreement before I make a decision. 3/5

10. I sometimes try to understand my friends better by imagining how things look from their perspective. 2/5

11. If I'm sure I'm right about something, I don't waste much time listening to other people's arguments. 3/5

12. I believe that there are two sides to every question and try to look at them both. 3/5

13. When I'm upset at someone, I usually try to "put myself in his shoes" for a while. 2/5

14. Before criticizing somebody, I try to imagine how I would feel if I were in their place. 2/5


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## yogonu (May 2, 2009)

I got a 68.8 I get bothered alot by other peoples bad circumstances it sucks.


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## heroin (Dec 10, 2010)

66/70 - 94.3%

What can I say? I am a softie. 

I do have a problem *expressing* empathy though. Like when an adult is crying, I don't ask them what's wrong, even though I want to. That's probably due to the social impairment though.


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## Music Man (Aug 22, 2009)

I got 77.1%


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## AlisonWonderland (Nov 4, 2010)

45/70
64.3%


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## kiasockmonkey (Dec 13, 2010)

34/70 - 48.6%

Now I feel like an azzhole.

These questions seemed awfully repetitive to me though...


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## BKrakow (Jul 8, 2010)

I got a 48. but, as others have pointed out, I think the questions were way too oversimplified to actually tell us anything accurate about how empathetic we are.


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## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

It was uncomfortable to take cause it was so vague. I had to consider several situations and people when answering to get a general impression and also what they've said about me, because if only considering some_one_/a type of situation where I'm most empathetic, or the opposite, it would skew the results.


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## Kon (Oct 21, 2010)

I think if I asked the few friends I have I'd probably score even lower than my low 30s. Another problem is I have no clue how others are, so it's hard to make a comparison. I think though that I'm more forgiving and non-judgemental than other people who are far more empathetic than me. People around me (family, friends) think I'm less evil, dangerous, because I'm considered harmless, if that makes sense. Is that SAD-related? Maybe it's because I don't care? I'm not sure if this is a SAD thing but I doubt it.


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## yourfavestoner (Jan 14, 2010)

39.



bkitty1 said:


> I got a 48. but, as others have pointed out, I think the questions were way too oversimplified to actually tell us anything accurate about how empathetic we are.


Agreed. A lot of it really depends on the circumstances for me, and that was never part of their questions.


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## Kon (Oct 21, 2010)

This one is much longer and thorough and you get an EQ/SQ (empathy/systemizing) ratio. It's in the Aspie forums but I think some SADers may also have a very low ratio:

http://eqsq.com/eq-sq-tests/


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## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

Kon said:


> I think if I asked the few friends I have I'd probably score even lower than my low 30s.


I did just that and have posted the results below. I don't think this test is anywhere near as good as the EQ above. Many with SA and AS might be considered harmless due to being more introverted and less assertive on average. But I don't know how general that is.

My friend/ex just filled it out for me and I scored 40/70, which is pretty consistent with how I viewed myself. But it's off on some items - e.g. I don't try to look at her perspective (her parents attempt to help me). Each item is scored out of 5, where 5 is the score for maximum empathy:

1. I often have tender, concerned feelings for people less fortunate than me. 2/5

2. Sometimes I don't feel very sorry for other people when they are having problems. 3/5

3. When I see someone being taken advantage of, I feel kind of protective towards them. 3/5

4. Other people's misfortunes do not usually disturb me a great deal. 3/5

5. When I see someone being treated unfairly, I sometimes don't feel very much pity for them. 3/5

6. I am often quite touched by things that I see happen. 4/5

7. I would describe myself as a pretty soft-hearted person. 3/5

8. I sometimes find it difficult to see things from the "other guy's" point of view. 2/5

9. I try to look at everybody's side of a disagreement before I make a decision. 4/5

10. I sometimes try to understand my friends better by imagining how things look from their perspective. 3/5

11. If I'm sure I'm right about something, I don't waste much time listening to other people's arguments. 2/5

12. I believe that there are two sides to every question and try to look at them both. 4/5

13. When I'm upset at someone, I usually try to "put myself in his shoes" for a while. 2/5

14. Before criticizing somebody, I try to imagine how I would feel if I were in their place. 2/5


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## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

Kon said:


> This one is much longer and thorough and you get an EQ/SQ (empathy/systemizing) ratio.
> 
> http://eqsq.com/eq-sq-tests/


I made a thread on it here this year. You can check the results there too.

Mine:

EQ = 15 (always shockingly low)
SQ = 77 (ave for AS)

(Extreme S.)


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## Kakaka (Apr 7, 2010)

37/70 - Lower than 90% of participants.

Not especially surprised. I have very little sympathy for people who upset me, I certainly don't try and "put myself in his shoes"

Then again the questions are quite vague. Like "I am often quite touched by things that I see happen."


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## lyssado707 (Oct 29, 2004)

I got 62/70, but still it doesn't do much good if i can barely show that empathy cuz of SA.


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## rosebudxo (Nov 29, 2010)

I got 77.1%


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## Paul (Sep 26, 2005)

I could take it 10 times and get totally different results each time, but this time I got 55/70 = 78.6% = yay I'm not a sociopath or at least I choose not to answer quizzes in a way that makes me look like one.


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## Kon (Oct 21, 2010)

odd_one_out said:


> EQ = 15 (always shockingly low)
> SQ = 77 (ave for AS)
> 
> (Extreme S.)


I still find these tests difficult because I don't know what the average person is like and when you rank you gotta base it on that but here's my scores:

EQ=14
SQ=71

Extreme Systemizing

I wonder if such scores are also common in SADers. I'm guessing a high SQ score would also be common in OCD.


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## SOME (Jul 13, 2009)

29/70 41.4%

eh


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## Gorillaz (Jul 13, 2010)

68/70


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## beatlesgirl (Nov 19, 2010)

Lmao, I got 70/70


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## Lumiere (Jun 13, 2009)

30/70.


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## heroin (Dec 10, 2010)

kon said:


> this one is much longer and thorough and you get an eq/sq (empathy/systemizing) ratio. It's in the aspie forums but i think some saders may also have a very low ratio:
> 
> http://eqsq.com/eq-sq-tests/


eq = 31
sq = 97

Yes, I do wonder about bizarre stuff like road networks and joints in furniture.


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## kiirby (Oct 8, 2010)

kev said:


> I started taking the test and then stopped because I didn't see the point. It's not a test of empathy, it's a test of how empathetic you view yourself as. If I finished, I would probably come out average or below.


Yup, pretty much this.


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## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

Kon said:


> I wonder if such scores are also common in SADers. I'm guessing a high SQ score would also be common in OCD.


I don't know about SAD in general, but from a sample of people from this site (here) I threw together the following table and compared it to the study groups. Valid conclusions cannot be made and this is just for fun:









And also:
*EQ*, SAD male median = 36; females = 48. (Ave absolute deviations from med: 9.2; 8.0)
*SQ*, SAD male median = 47; females = 48. (Ave absolute deviations from med: 16; 25.9)


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## Kon (Oct 21, 2010)

That would be interesting if sample size was larger and the caveats. You know one thing that I don't get is how does one not know that typicals arent't just faking (unintentially) the empathy data. For instance, I don't care if people think I'm not empathetic because I don't worry that much about social acceptance. But typicals do, so they have a much greater incentive to look like they're empathetic. I just don't see how one can really take another person's perspective. I can barely understand my own.


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## MattFoley (Dec 5, 2009)

43/70
61.4%


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## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

Kon said:


> That would be interesting if sample size was larger and the caveats.


If they found such results in SAD groups it would be unexpected because so far one study found they score higher on the AQ (as do those with OCD) than typical groups. The AQ measures autist traits in several domains, not just social. It's also correlated with the EQ (inversely).



Kon said:


> You know one thing that I don't get is how does one not know that typicals arent't just faking (unintentially) the empathy data. For instance, I don't care if people think I'm not empathetic because I don't worry that much about social acceptance. But typicals do, so they have a much greater incentive to look like they're empathetic.


This can be true. There can be a problem with such tests where participants answer in a way they think they should (that is, to show more empathy). This is known as _social desirability_ and the EQ researchers measured this using a Social Desirability Scale (SDS) to see if there was an association. Very few of the EQ items correlated with total SDS score, supporting the EQ's validity. Those that did were omitted from further analysis of the EQ and they recommended using the SDS in any EQ studies including these items.

I've noticed a few items stand out to me - such as consciously working out the rules of social interaction, predicting what someone will do, working out what the other might want to talk about, and knowing if someone's masking their true emotion. If the majority you meet have a similar interaction style to you and similar interests, cognitive profile, and body language, it's more likely you'll not have a problem in these areas.



Kon said:


> I just don't see how one can really take another person's perspective. I can barely understand my own.


Because taking another's perspective is based on _theory of mind_, taking your own (i.e. accurately reading your own mind and emotions) is said to be a prerequisite. You apply your own mental states from your experiences to others. It can be quite accurate but is _theory_ because you can never really enter someone's mind. It also involves realising others have different minds and perspectives and aren't thinking what you're thinking.


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## fredbloggs02 (Dec 14, 2009)

By empathy we mean how well we relate to other peoples problems. For a man who's never experienced other peoples problems is this an inate ability he somehow possesses without his knowledge? A man who knows how to be empathetic without empathizing would ace this test no doubt, whereas the man who decides he doesn't fitt well within the category scores lowly. answer the questions? Hah. The questions could never reach answers. The take on the questions for each never seem reachable and the reaching of each persons reach on each question is unreachable by a man seeing the same test through his own unreachable nature lol...reach. I don't answer the question by answering the question, the answer isn't written as a side of me on my forhead or why ask the question at all? How do any of you know how I might interpret it? How do ay of you know how any other might be interpreting the same question. Self-loathers might be better empathizers than the peasant who scores 60+ here simply because by their own admission they don't understand how to empathize and therefore in my view possess a deeper unerstanding of empathy than those who would simply answer the question and bring me much mirth by their progress doing so. Likely anyone who answers the questions as they see them shows lacking in the basic understanding that not all questions can be answered, not all people are reachable and therefore should lack the will to attempt to reach them. Maybe in their own way people here are empathetic but so are we ALL in that sense. Nearly every man or woman here who believe they do their best to understand people also feel they fail so where is the basic mobility fitting an answer to this question, that loses me slightly too. Empathetic people aren't subjugating people in my view, they don't put themselves beneath contempt for name's sake but for acts sake, they do it without realising it and they have a natural affinity to do so. An empathetic person by name's sake is the same as an air filter with a goose in the end clogging the line lol. Everything for name's sake, there is no true skill in a self-proclaimed empathetic person and no truly empathetic person would ever be named so by the standard measures such as this test. It becomes a futile word. The way it's transparent in it's use to describe that which is not felt. Quite a paradox of a word I feel. A word by it's own function when it's limited to hearing to hear by it's own take on everything only itself. There is no place for this test, not with me. Maybe I'm not the informed one or you all know better in which case, why the hell did you leave me out of he loop when it comes to trying to relate these ludicrously high scores to me. I'll assume you were trying to relate them and maybe I'm not important enough to be involved in this test so athough the scores were clear, the answers were not meant to be read by me. I suppose that makes me somewhat an artist of my own falliability. I'm falliable so I It turns out I'm an artist who doesn't like this test. I don't like this test and I somewhat failed to ascertain why to anyone but myself so I am the Picaso who fell from his stepladder. There you go. 'll score myself 0% as I diddn't answer a single question and leave it at that. There's your answer to these ridiculous questions and we'll see if I really am the bumbling, stumbling Picaso or not


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## Freiheit (Dec 8, 2008)

21/70


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## goodman (Oct 26, 2010)

43/70 meh!:blank


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## BuzzAldrin (Jun 20, 2010)

67.1% 

66/70 points = higher empathy than 95% of participants


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## antonina (Oct 25, 2008)

62/70


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## room101 (Nov 5, 2010)

My score on the first test was 29/70. If 39/70 means lower empathy than 90% of participants, then I can't imagine how much lower 29/70 is - 97% of participants?! Ho-sh!t! Well truthfully, I'm not too surprised. I already had my suspicions that I may have a dissociative disorder since I experience the physical symptoms of depersonalization frequently. A few people in my life have pointed out that I'm extremely detached and aloof, and I'm starting to notice that I'm becoming so increasingly as I grow older. I think that also has partly to do with not seeing a psychologist or getting any sort of help for my problems and letting them exacerbate.

My EQSQ score is consistent with the other test too: EQ=16 SQ=58 Extreme Systemizing. Although I noticed the SQ questions were vague and I definitely could've answered them differently and gotten an even higher mark. For instance, if I look at mountains or train tracks or buildings it might automatically jog my memory how these things work/were formed (given I have prior knowledge), but does that mean I am deliberately thinking about it or that I'm intrigued/interested/curious? :sus You could know about something without really giving a sh!t.

This is my favourite question from the EQ portion, albeit very random:
10) When I was a child, I enjoyed cutting up worms to see what would happen.
:batHahaha, I've always been fascinated by insects and actually used to make miniature houses for ants and keep pet snails in empty pop bottles. I thought every kid did it until one day when I asked a friend to join me on a snail hunt and was met with a disgusted expression.



Kon said:


> People around me (family, friends) think I'm less evil, dangerous, because I'm considered harmless, if that makes sense. Is that SAD-related? Maybe it's because I don't care? I'm not sure if this is a SAD thing but I doubt it.


I totally understand what you mean as I'm very much the same way. Sometimes my indifference (mixed in with SA and my inability to say No) can make me a pushover, which makes it seem like I'm a weak/nice/harmless person. If anything I'd argue that my detached 'why-not' nature would make me more susceptible to doing 'evil' (there's a lot of religious connotation there, and being an athiest by default makes me somewhat of a 'bad' person to others) since I am less accepting of some societal norms and values. Is it a SAD thing? In my opinion, no.



odd_one_out said:


> I made a thread on it here this year. You can check the results there too.
> 
> Mine:
> 
> ...


You voluntarily made a statistics table out of test scores? Just goes to show how systemizing you are! hehe :b



Kon said:


> I wonder if such scores are also common in SADers. I'm guessing a high SQ score would also be common in OCD.


Hm, that's possible but not necessarily true. I have a friend with severe OCD but they are the complete opposite of me, can't follow directions or read a map to save their life, not the least bit interested in anything technical. I think the test scores are more reflective of personality traits than disorders. That said, certain personality traits do not automatically predispose you to a certain disorder. Life's circumstances could actually even throw you in the complete opposite direction. I'd say these tests are too faulty and misleading to get an accurate score anyhow, let alone to try and find a correlation between scores and disorders. It becomes even more complicated because how do you even gauge where you end and where your disorder begins? I think you just have to look at these things on an individual-to-individual basis because broader patterns aren't too reliable.


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## Black_Widow (May 23, 2008)

Got 62.9%. I expected to do a bit better than that!:um


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## Enora Lively (Dec 31, 2010)

61/70
87.1%


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## bmwfan07 (Jun 3, 2007)

I got 75% or 53/70. I consider myself more empathic than that, but I think my ADHD impulsivity reduced my answers to some of the questions, namely the ones related to thinking before acting. 



room101 said:


> My score on the first test was 29/70. If 39/70 means lower empathy than 90% of participants, then I can't imagine how much lower 29/70 is - 97% of participants?! Ho-sh!t! Well truthfully, I'm not too surprised. I already had my suspicions that I may have a dissociative disorder since I experience the physical symptoms of depersonalization frequently. A few people in my life have pointed out that I'm extremely detached and aloof, and I'm starting to notice that I'm becoming so increasingly as I grow older. I think that also has partly to do with not seeing a psychologist or getting any sort of help for my problems and letting them exacerbate.
> 
> My EQSQ score is consistent with the other test too: EQ=16 SQ=58 Extreme Systemizing. Although I noticed the SQ questions were vague and I definitely could've answered them differently and gotten an even higher mark. For instance, if I look at mountains or train tracks or buildings it might automatically jog my memory how these things work/were formed (given I have prior knowledge), but does that mean I am deliberately thinking about it or that I'm intrigued/interested/curious? :sus You could know about something without really giving a sh!t.
> 
> ...


It sounds like you might have some Asperger's traits, especially the combination of the low-ish EQ score (of course, this isn't a scientific test) and the extreme systemizing, and your self-professed "detached" nature. A lot of Aspies have social anxiety, or at least some variation of it.


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## sean88 (Apr 29, 2006)

Music Man said:


> I got 77.1%


Same.


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## Lasair (Jan 25, 2010)

I did it then realized I made a mistake on the which side was best described and the one that doesn't


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## Emanresu (Jun 2, 2010)

27/70


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

53/70 -> 75.7%


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## room101 (Nov 5, 2010)

bmwfan07 said:


> It sounds like you might have some Asperger's traits, especially the combination of the low-ish EQ score (of course, this isn't a scientific test) and the extreme systemizing, and your self-professed "detached" nature. A lot of Aspies have social anxiety, or at least some variation of it.


It seems so just looking at the scores doesn't it. But I looked quite thoroughly into Asperger's a few years back and would still say that I don't have many of the primary characteristics of the syndrome.

In a way I think not seeing a doctor hasn't been all bad. There's definitely a self-fulfilling element to getting diagnosed with a mental illness.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

21/70

Seems I have a cold black heart.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

Olazet91 said:


> 21/70


A real ice queen who scored as low as me!


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## Cest La Vie (Feb 17, 2010)

36/70 But I'm not a monster, just insecure, honestly.


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## rockyraccoon (Dec 13, 2010)

53/70 = 75.7%


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## gohan (Dec 13, 2010)

58/70. The test is rubbish.


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## weebeastiebaby (May 15, 2009)

45/70

I feel a tremendous amount of empathy for people that are being taken advantage of, but when I know I'm right why would I listen to what a jerk has to say?


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## DaedalEVE (Dec 2, 2010)

66/70 94.3%

I'm usually a very empathetic person (maybe too much so)... but when my empathy runs out, apathy sets in.


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## Larcen (Jan 17, 2011)

30/70.....I get real upset when I see someone being made fun of or taken advantage of, which was the high of my score.....but other than that Im kind of a zombie with my emotions


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## Skysie (Oct 24, 2010)

58/70, 82.9% I may have been a bit biased in my answers


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## InfiniteBlaze (Jan 27, 2011)

43/70


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## percyblueraincoat (Jun 2, 2009)

87.1


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## rainbowOne (Sep 26, 2010)

67/70

My empathy is I guess part of my social anxiety. When I go out into the world I want to fix everything and make things better for people cos I can't stand to see people hurting


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## someguy8 (Sep 10, 2010)

I think a lot of people in this world are a lot more or less empathetic than they would like to believe.


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## fredbloggs02 (Dec 14, 2009)

I was talking about this with my tutor the other day. The word only means the questions and the questions define the word. If empathy means anything more than the questions then this doesn't mean you lack empathy across the board. It seems a contradiction one man decides what empathy is anyway or even lots of men If you listen to their understanding of empathy you'd only empathize with a select few people How does feel for as empathy to you lot? That's what this test is after all. It isn't a general understanding to me, empathy. Empathy can be underhanded but more commited than a father yet you lose points without "giving money to charity" say. Really silly. This doesn't tell you anything. Say your understanding of how to help someone was through different means or putting yourself in someone else's shoes was a different thought process for you?


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## sound (Jan 25, 2011)

i got a 70/70
my empathy drives me psycho


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## Pam (Feb 14, 2009)

60 / 70 86%

I am shocked to see the results in this thread--I would have bet that SA and empathy are positively correlated. Apparently not. :stu


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## Blujay13 (Nov 24, 2010)

68.6% - 48/70. I'm not extremely empathetic but I am most of the time I guess. I'm happy with my score.

I'm not sure this empathy quiz describes my empathy 100% because some of the questions depended on _who_ the person was. For example:

2. Sometimes I don't feel very sorry for other people when they are having problems.

That depends on who the person is and how bad the problem is. If I hate that person and the problem is pretty bad, I'll still feel empathetic towards them. If I hate that person and the problem isn't that bad, I don't really care cause odds are they have more friends than me to help them get through it o_o. If I like that person of course I care a lot.


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## nickcorona (Oct 17, 2010)

36/70

Empathy is a useless emotion.


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## Tangerine (Feb 16, 2010)

41/70


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## Cyber Lume (Sep 19, 2010)

49/70

Like many tests, there were too many generalized questions to grasp the concept of empathy. 

I don't know, I think I did good on some of the questions like, "Do you put yourself in someone else's shoes?" I do that pretty naturally, I feel. But even if I understand, I don't feel that an emotional response is always the right one. It depends.


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## DontDoSadness (Jan 12, 2011)

92.9%: 65/70


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## shygal88 (Sep 26, 2010)

44


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## Tom L (Jan 4, 2011)

JupiterStarr said:


> 68/70*
> 
> *I'm more empathetic than most of the participants. Even though I feel very uncomfortable around others and tend to avoid people I'm quite soft and caring on the inside.*
> 
> *


56/70 points = higher empathy than 70% of participants (although not quite as high as your result )

I agree with you about being uncomfortable around others thus avoiding people, but still being empathetic on the inside, I blame the SA. lol :l


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## Saekon (Jan 13, 2010)

Carebears is my favorite tv show and I believe caring should be attained through any means possible. Yet I still scored 0/70. Do I care too much about others?


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