📋 What to expect
What is the Empathy Quotient?
The Empathy Quotient (EQ) is a well-established self-assessment developed by Simon Baron-Cohen and colleagues at Cambridge University to measure empathy across three dimensions: cognitive empathy (understanding what others think and feel), emotional reactivity (being moved by others' emotions), and social skills that draw on empathy in everyday interactions.
Why it matters
Empathy is not a single, uniform trait, and it varies naturally across individuals and neurotypes. Lower EQ scores are common among autistic people and reflect a different cognitive style rather than a moral deficit or lack of caring; many autistic people feel emotions intensely but process and express them differently.
About this test
This 40-question self-assessment is an educational tool, not a clinical diagnosis. It can help you understand your own empathic style, but only a qualified clinician can assess empathy-related difficulties in a clinical context.