What This Test Measures
Empathy is not one single thing. Psychologists usually describe at least three kinds, and this test scores each one separately.
| Kind of empathy | What it is | Everyday example |
|---|---|---|
| Cognitive empathy | Understanding what someone thinks or feels | Knowing your friend is nervous before a big interview |
| Emotional empathy | Feeling what someone else feels | Feeling sad when your friend is sad |
| Compassion | Caring about someone and wanting to help | Offering to practise interview questions with them |
The three do not always go together. A skilled negotiator may read people brilliantly (high cognitive empathy) without feeling their emotions much. A very sensitive person may feel others’ pain strongly (high emotional empathy) and still not know how to help.
How The Test Works And How It Is Scored
You rate 24 statements, eight for each kind of empathy, from “Strongly disagree” to “Strongly agree”. Some are reversed: agreeing with “Sad scenes in films rarely affect me” lowers your emotional empathy score.
Each answer scores 0 to 4. Your overall score and each kind of empathy are shown as percentages.
| Overall score | Result |
|---|---|
| 0% to 35% | Reserved empathy |
| 36% to 55% | Balanced empathy |
| 56% to 75% | Highly empathic |
| 76% to 100% | Deeply empathic |
Sample statement (Cognitive empathy): “I can explain an argument from the other person’s side, even if I disagree.” Strong agreement adds 4 points.
All statements were written by PrismaTest for this test.
The Research Behind It
The split between thinking and feeling empathy goes back decades. Psychologist Mark Davis’s Interpersonal Reactivity Index (1980) separated perspective taking from emotional concern and personal distress, and it is still widely used. Psychologist Paul Ekman and others later popularised the three-part model of cognitive empathy, emotional empathy and compassionate empathy.
Brain research has added an important twist. Neuroscientist Tania Singer and colleagues found that feeling others’ pain and feeling compassion for them activate different brain networks. In their studies, training people in compassion increased positive feelings and helping behaviour, while focusing only on shared pain increased distress. This is why we show compassion as its own score: it is the kind of empathy most linked with helping without burning out.
Limits
Self-report empathy tests measure how empathic you think you are. People are not always accurate judges of this, and some studies find only weak links between self-rated empathy and actual skill at reading emotions.
All Possible Results
Reserved Empathy
You stay logical and somewhat detached. Calm in a crisis, though others may sometimes feel unheard.
Balanced Empathy
You understand and share feelings without being overwhelmed. This is a healthy middle ground.
Highly Empathic
You read people well, feel with them and want to help. Boundaries keep it sustainable.
Deeply Empathic
Exceptionally strong empathy that can be draining. Leaning on compassion protects your energy.
How To Read Your Result
Compare your three bars:
- High cognitive, low emotional: you understand people well but stay emotionally steady. Useful in medicine, negotiation and leadership; remember to show warmth.
- High emotional, low compassion: you feel others’ pain strongly but may freeze or feel overwhelmed. Turning feeling into one small helpful action can ease that.
- High compassion: you care and act. This is the most sustainable form of empathy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you be too empathetic?
High emotional empathy can lead to stress and fatigue, sometimes called empathy fatigue or compassion fatigue in caring jobs. Boundaries and self-care help.
Can empathy be learned?
Yes. Perspective taking, active listening and compassion training all show improvements in research.
Is low empathy a sign of a disorder?
Not on its own. Empathy varies widely between healthy people. Very low empathy combined with other traits can be part of some conditions, but only a professional can assess that.
What is the difference between empathy and sympathy?
Sympathy is feeling sorry for someone. Empathy is understanding or sharing what they feel.
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For self-reflection only. Not a psychological assessment. See how we build our tests.