Introduction
The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire focuses on emotional responses to other people. Its 16 statements include sharing someone's excitement, being affected by distress and responding with concern.
Emotional empathy is one part of social understanding. Knowing why someone feels a certain way, feeling with them and deciding how to help are related but separate processes. A quiet response may still reflect concern, so examples are useful when interpreting a general statement.
The longer Empathy Quotient covers a wider set of social experiences. The Big Five places interpersonal tendencies within a broader personality profile. None of these questionnaires ranks moral character; each uses a different set of descriptions to organise self-reflection.
Instructions
Below is a list of statements. Please read each statement carefully and rate how frequently you feel or act in the manner described. Circle your answer on the response form. There are no right or wrong answers or trick questions. Please answer each question as honestly as you can.
Scoring and result metrics
The result page reports a local screening score for this questionnaire. Use the score range, any subscale scores, and the interpretation band together rather than treating one number as a diagnosis.
- Score range
- 0-64
- Items scored
- 16
- Result indicators
- Total score / Interpretation band when available
Score interpretation bands
- 0-44Below average empathy
Scores below 45 are indicative of below average empathy levels.
- 45-64Above average empathy
Scores above 45 are indicative of above average empathy levels.
Interpretation bands summarize screening thresholds from the questionnaire source material. Higher scores usually indicate more of the measured concern unless the tool notes a different scoring rule.
Tool information
- Version
- 16 questions
- Administration
- Self-report
- Intended audience
- Adults and research participants exploring affective empathy and their typical emotional responses to other people
Sources
- Spreng RN, McKinnon MC, Mar RA, Levine B. (2009). The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire: scale development and initial validation of a factor-analytic solution to multiple empathy measures.
- Spreng RN, McKinnon MC, Mar RA, Levine B. The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire: Scale development and initial validation of a factor-analytic solution to multiple empathy measures. Journal of Personality Assessment. 2009.;91(1):62-71.
Related tests
Explore related screening tools in the same topic area.
Empathy Quotient (EQ)
The Empathy Quotient asks about understanding other people and responding to their experiences.
Big 5 Personality Test (FFM)
This 50-question personality inventory describes five broad dimensions: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.
Buss Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ)
The Buss–Perry questionnaire separates aggression into physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger and hostility.