This week I took the Empathy Quotient (EQ) test. I know many of you have been waiting for this one. Next week we’ll do something less technical and more fun, but this week, I’m gonna hit you with a lot of background info. The EQ and the 2004 study that it was originally used in created a firestorm of controversy that never really died down.
The Empathy Quotient (EQ) test is intended to be a measure of your ability to understand how people feel and to respond appropriately. The questions on the EQ are based on the following definition of empathy:
“Empathy is the drive or ability to attribute mental states to another person/animal, and entails an appropriate affective response in the observer to the other person’s mental state.” (Baron-Cohen and Wheelwright, 2004)
This definition encompasses both cognitive empathy (perspective taking/attribution) and affective empathy (emotional response to another’s emotional state). Although many autistic people have described distinct variations in their perceived levels of cognitive and empathic empathy, Baron-Cohen and Wheelwright state that cognitive and affective empathy are too difficult to untangle and therefore must be looked at as a whole.
A subsequent 2005 study by Muncer and Ling challenged this belief by sorting 23 of the 40 EQ questions into three domains: cognitive, emotional reactivity, and social skills. To give you an idea of what types of skills fall into each domain, here are the top 5 most relevant questions for each:
Cognitive
- I can tune into how someone else feels rapidly and intuitively
- I am good at predicting how someone will feel
- I am quick to spot when someone in a group is feeling awkward or uncomfortable
- I can easily work out what another person might want to talk about
- I can sense if I am intruding, even if the other person does not tell me
Social skills
- I do not tend to find social situations confusing
- I find it hard to know what to do in a social situation
- I often find it difficult to judge if something is rude or polite
- I find it difficult to explain to others things that I understand easily, when they do not understand it first time
- Friendships and relationships are just too difficult, so I tend not to bother with them
Emotional reactivity
- I tend to get emotionally involved with a friend’s problems
- Seeing people cry does not really upset me
- I really enjoy caring for other people
- I usually stay emotionally detached when watching a film
- If I say something that someone else is offended by, I think that is their problem, not mine
The 2005 study tested the 23 domain-specific EQ questions for gender differences. The emotional reactivity domain had the greatest gender differences, the cognitive domain had fewer differences and the social skills domain showed no differences in scores along gender lines. The authors theorized that emotional reactivity may be strongly rooted in the “willingness of an individual to express emotion” (drive) rather than the ability to understand another person’s emotional state.
This raises the question of how alexithymia (emotional dysfunction), which affects many people on the spectrum, might impact EQ scores. Many people on the spectrum experience alexithymia, making them less willing or able to express emotion due to challenges in regulating and processing feelings. Perhaps it isn’t that autistic people can’t understand the emotions of others, but that the cost of responding appropriately is too high.
Gender Bias Revisited
If you’ve been following Take-a-Test Tuesday closely, you’ve seen the discussion of gender bias in other screening instrument studies. The EQ study was heavily weighted toward males, with 65 males and 25 females in each group. That’s more than twice as many males as females in a study of a trait that is known to have gender differences in scoring.
Traditionally males score significantly lower than females on self-reported measures of empathy. On top of that, the EQ study had significantly more control group women than men with above average scores (>54) and 14% of control group males in the EQ study scored in the AS/HFA range.
Now consider that this study was used to test:
- whether adults with high-functioning autism (HFA) or Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) have lower EQ scores
- whether the EQ is inversely correlated with the AQ (i.e. the “more autistic” you are, the “less empathetic” you are)
- whether the EQ inversely correlates with the Friendship Questionnaire (i.e. the “more autistic” you are, the less reciprocity and intimacy you’ll report having in relationships)
- for sex differences in empathy
Baron-Cohen used the low EQ scores of the HFA/AS group as support for his theory that HFA/AS is an “empathy disorder.” The researchers subsequently conducted interviews with many of the HFA/AS study participants and reported that while they had difficulty knowing that their actions hurt another person, they did feel bad about it when such instances were pointed out to them, and therefore “are not like unfeeling psychopaths.” (As I write this, I’m envisioning the tops of my autistic readers’ heads flying off. Repeatedly. Sorry.)
This study is also used as evidence to uphold another of Baron-Cohen’s theories (extreme male brain theory), further calling the motivation of the study design into question.
So, now that we’ve gotten ourselves all worked up about the questionable science underlying the EQ, let’s actually take the darn thing.
Pros and Cons of the EQ
Pros
- Self-scoring
- Scoring of slightly/definitely choices is weighted
- Filler questions attempt to reduce repetitiveness
- Clinically tested in both ASD and non-ASD populations
Cons
- Measures cognitive empathy, emotional reactivity and social skills but doesn’t provide subscale scores
- May be gender biased
- May exhibit bias toward developer’s theory of autism
- Probably longer than it needs to be (a 15-item version has shown similar outcomes)
- Self-reported measures of empathy often have poor correlation with tests of empathic accuracy (i.e. we tend to think we’re either more or less empathetic than we are)
Taking the Test
When you take the EQ, you may question the relevance of some of the items. That’s because 40 are related to empathy and 20 are filler questions meant to be a distraction from the repetitive nature of the empathy questions. Only the 40 empathy-related questions count in the scoring; the 20 filler questions score a zero no matter how you answer them.
You can take the test here. There are 60 questions. Unlike some of the other tests we’ve taken, this test gives 2 points for a “definitely” answer and 1 point for a “slightly” answer so degree matters.
Scoring the Test
Possible scores range from 0 to 80. The average NT scores from two different studies were 47 and 50 for women and 41 and 42 for men. The average aspie score is 20.
A general scoring guideline:
- 0-32 = below average
- 33-52 = average
- 53-63 = above average
- 64-80 = significantly above average
I got a 12. The Scientist got a 48. I’ve taken the EQ twice in the past, and got an 8 and a 10. I jokingly told The Scientist this past week that I’m now 50% more empathetic.
If you get a ridiculously low score on this test, keep in mind that it’s measuring a few different things and conflating them into one “empathy” score, which isn’t very accurate. After reading the Muncer study, I wish the test returned subscale scores for cognitive, emotional reactivity and social skills. I’d like to know which of the areas I actually scored some points in.
The Bottom Line
The evidence for the EQ as a unidimensional measure of empathy is weak. Aspies tend to score low on the EQ, but what that means is unclear.
Musings of an Aspie 
Welp, I scored 18 so I’m 50% more sympathetic than you? Lol. How do ppl score 47? “I looove following the latest fashions!” Barf. Who does that? Just a way to cheat you out of your money.
BTW, this is a great feature. I love taking tests. 🙂 I have so many fond memories of being at school and filling out those little scan-tron cards with my HB pencil.
50% more empathetic than me probably isn’t saying much but . . . go you! 😀
I love taking tests too. It would be awesome if we could take these tests on scan-tron cards. Just the thought of sharpening up a pencil in one of those old school manual sharpeners attached the wall makes me all bouncy and happy.
The girlfriend and I took this together. She scored a 50-something. I scored a 5. And here I was thinking I learned empathy. Guess not.
empathetic, rather.
I just have a hard time believing that these tests can be accurate when there are so many variables per answer. My empathy is not affected by someone crying unless they are crying over circumstances I myself would cry over, BUT I am affected by crying simply because it’s often too much emotion for me to deal with in another person, as in WHAT SHOULD I DO? Also the question of whether or not I would consider someone’s feelings when making a decision – yes I would, unless it interfered with the rightness or morality of my decision and then I would not. Feelings are not what I consider the most important issues, while justice and rightness are, which is why I’m a INTJ on the MBTI. I also think it’s very difficult to know whether you are either good at sensing people’s emotions or predicting their reactions. How can you know this unless they are both blunt and open with you? I often get the sense that something isn’t quite right or happy, but I don’t know what it is.
I’m not sure I like the subtle feeling I get from all these tests that having a different moral compass from being ruled by a morass of “feelings” is less human and more robotic.
I scored 26 today, the highest ever since the first time I took it and got 14 – but I think I was being generous and sloppy with myself 🙂
I’m an INTJ too, so I have a lot of these same feelings about the questions. It all feels so situational and dependent on having more information that what’s given. One of the criticisms of self-rated empathy tests is that everyone–autistic and NT included–tends to be a worse judge of their own empathy level than they think they are.
Being generous with yourself is a good idea on these things. That’s probably why my score keeps climbing.
I got a 9. I really struggle with the social side of things. uggg
Me too. I got an 8 the first time I took this one.
I got a 12 and a 14 on the test. I really struggled with putting myself in antoher’s shoes…
I scored a 21. XD The first time I took it, though, I was lying to myself and thought I was more empathic than I was.
I think I had the opposite problem the first time I took and was much harder on myself than I needed to be. It’s hard to judge your own empathy, I guess.
Indeed!
I got 10, the first time I did this test awhile ago and got 17 (http://www.aspietests.org/ store my results). Think I answered more honestly this time, yikes.
Note: I am not diagnosed.
I wonder if the variation in everyone’s scores on multiple tries (which, you know, why do we keep taking this?!) says something about the vagueness of the questions. They seem really widely open to interpretation.
I do understand that not being able to demonstrate empathy can feel the same as not having empathy but to say someone doesn’t have empathy implies that it can’t be tapped into or developed. And if someone can emulate empathy – a sociopath for example – and be more socially acceptable than me what does that say about society in general?
What I really hate about this test is that it’s not written for us – or by us. He presumes to understand us better than we understand ourselves and that’s not possible and I think that alone invalidates his model. It isn’t objective, it’s almost as if it was a foregone conclusion before he began the study that we are unempathic. I took the test with great difficulty because I’ve become very cautious of disclosure and having my intentions misinterpreted. I wonder if he factored that in?
Yes, the assumptions that underpin the creation of this test are really suspect. Since writing this, I’ve come to the conclusion that the questions on this test are mostly proxies for questions about autistic traits rather than about empathy so by default most autistic people will score very low.
That was my first impression.
I think a lot of the confusion this “test” (and indeed any discussion about Autism) has caused lies in the confusion between whether someone is discussing Autism as a social construct and how do we, as a society, deal with it or whether we’re talking about the objective science of Autism. The latest fluff piece by the NYT about using oxytocin as a stimulant for Autistic children – which curiously doesn’t have comments enabled – includes the statement, “This suggests not only that oxytocin can stimulate social brain areas, but also that in children with autism these brain regions are not irrevocably damaged but are plastic enough to be influenced. ” The moment I read this I knew that this was, in truth, an opinion piece and not scientific reporting. The decision to portray us as brain damaged could only be an editorial decision and not ignorance or someone misspeaking. Not if it appears in the NYT, right?
It’s good to see you critique this thing so thoroughly, it really is a mess and I’m glad that subsequent research has said so too!
It’s interesting to see this taken separately to the Systemizing Quotient, I’ve always done this test as part of the EQSQ (as was hosted at http://eqsq.com/eq-sq-tests/ as recently as November 2011), see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empathizing–systemizing_theory
A version of the combined EQSQ is up here still http://personality-testing.info/tests/EQSQ.php although it fails to give you the correct scoring and eventual ‘type’, these details can be found here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/news/page/0,,937443,00.html
My results on that automated version of the test are:
Your Empathizing Quotient is 13. Baron-Cohen (2003) suggests that this means “you have a lower than average ability for understanding how other people feel and responding appropriately”.
Your Systemizing Quotient is 41. Baron-Cohen (2003) suggests that this means “you have an average ability for analysing and exploring a system”. (this is wrong, 40 is the start of the ‘above average’ band)
So I’m well into the ‘extreme systemizer’ sector based on the scoring chart here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/feature/image/0,13030,938137,00.html
This doesn’t shock me at all, I’m just generally interested in how things work and always have been, look at the amount of analysis I’ve done on these tests! On top of that I have a variety of organisational and memory impairments that make rules and routines vital for succeeding in my life.
I don’t find the SQ very contentious, although I wonder how much autistic narrow interests skew the results. I really think the EQ questions say more about Simon Baron-Cohen’s biases and concepts of gender than anything else. How does following the latest fashions say anything about your ability to empathize with others? Surely it’s about cultural conformity?
Interesting to see that we got such close EQ scores considering our previous discussions though. Does this show that alexithyia and the triad of impairments mean that those reporting opposite extremes ‘affective empathy’ can have the same social imagination and reciprocity difficulties in practice? Or does it mean that the EQ is considering too many things so significant differences can still be averaged away?
‘Food for thought’ post as always, thank you! 🙂
Thank you for the links on the EQSQ. Do you think it’s worth doing the combined one as well or should I just do the SQ alone? I’ll read the links for the background, but I’m also interested in your opinion on it.
I haven’t taken the SQ yet, so I can’t compare scores on that, but we got almost the exact same EQ score, which is odd. I’m leaning toward the idea that impairment is impairment regardless of the direction, but it could be an issue of regressing toward the mean too. It’s possible (probable?) that we answer entirely different questions affirmatively/negatively to earn our similar number of points.
I think the fashion question is one of the filler questions? (as in, it doesn’t count no matter how you answer it.) I think a lot of the general criticism from the EQ originates in the filler questions, which further dilutes the discussion of empathy and gender bias, etc. SBC certainly doesn’t make things any easier on himself. He could have at least chosen more neutral filler questions.
Next week I want to do something with less analysis (something visual too) then I’ll hit some more of the tests on the aspietests site, I think.
Having all the questions mixed in together is probably helpful when you’re not familiar with either set, not sure if it’ll help when you’re already aware of the EQ. I suppose the benefit is that your score is calculated automatically, even if the conclusions need to be double checked against the scoring key.
My awareness of my own emotions is very poor and my cognitive empathy is useless, so we probably respond the same in many cases. I said crying, suffering on the news, animals in distress and films all affect my emotions strongly, everything else was either only slightly affirmative or more likely to be in the negative. I also answered strongly negative to probably all of the ‘social skills’ questions, which seem to be inevitable for any autistic to answer negatively on. The Muncer and Ling critique is spot on there, I think.
And yes, you’re right, the fashion question is filler, equivalent to the superstitions question on the SQ. I’m annoyed with myself for not checking but I’d misremembered that it was one of the items quoted above. And he didn’t do himself any favours by framing the whole thing as being about gender, the 2003/04 press coverage here was all about ‘How male or female is your brain?’ as you can see from the Guardian links above.
Okay, I’ll look at the SQ, maybe do that separately and then do the EQ-SQ together at some much later point. I have no idea how long this series can be sustained before I run out of tests.
I answer strongly negative to all of the social skills questions as well. I think the only question worth points that I answer strongly is the animal in pain one. The rest of my points are accumulated on “slightly” answers and even there I’m being generous with myself and assuming ideal type situations.
That male/female brain thing just persists and persists. I read an article in a popular science magazine by Baron-Cohen over the holidays that folded in the extreme male brain theory and the empathizing-systemizing theory. Gah.
Ah so it evens out, when I’m aware of affective empathy it’s strong and overwhelming, so I got a handful of twos, while your empathy is perhaps more usually cognitive and tentatively learned through practice (what you described as ‘sympathy’ in your empathy post) so you answered ‘slightly’ positively in more places where I probably answered ‘slightly’ negatively.
I’d be interested to know if anyone with alexithymia scores significantly more than us on the EQ. Difficulty with emotional awareness seems likely to correlate strongly with difficulties with social emotional cues.
Anyone who is alexithymic would probably have a hard time scoring higher than 20ish, I would think. Alexithymia and empathy seem so tightly entwined. However, we can test this out by taking the Alexithymia Questionnaire as a Tuesday test and asking people to include both scores if they’ve taken both. 🙂
Both me and my ex scored low on both the EQ and SQ test, though I think I scored higher than her on both.
I had my boyfriend take it. He just got evaluated to see if he’s on the spectrum, but hasn’t gotten his results back yet. Lack of empathy on his end has been a big problem in our relationship, but we both had to laugh at our scores: He got a 7 and I got a 53!
It’s a match made in heaven! I got 12 and my husband got 47. 😀 Once we worked out how we process things differently, we’ve actually found that our extreme difference is helpful in a lot of practical ways.
Simon Baron-Cohen is a butt. (I got 17)
This literally made me laugh out loud. 😀
(er, not your score, your observation)
I got 49. 30 years ago that score would have been much lower so I’d say I’ve improved a great deal.
It does seem like we grow and change as we get older. I’ve definitely become more self-aware too.
I’m an estp and I got a 56 on this … I found that I wouldn’t even take the time to let self doubt kick in it was just read, yes to instinct, click, as these questions are much less complex than the personality typing ones. But then maybe that’s just me. And my self confidence maybe I’m not actually how I see myself
You raise a good point, which is the gap between how empathetic we think we are or aren’t and how others might rate us on an “empathy scale.” And I’m literally the exact opposite of you – INSJ (or sometimes INTJ). 🙂
I’m inclined to think this test should be used more as a method of confirming whether someone is NT rather than as a standard of testing for ASD, assuming that I understand the purpose of the test at all. I found myself wanting to have more background information on many of the questions; just too much ambiguity to feel strongly enough in either direction.
Thanks for sharing all your insights in this post.
I have taken this test a couple times, with scores ranging from 9 to 15. I’ve also taken the Aspie test where the result is a bullseye shaped graph showing differences in cognitive traits. On that test I tended to lean toward the Aspie side of things.
I did go a couple times to a psychologist and basically said “I think I’m an Aspie” and he didn’t feel that was accurate.
Not sure what to think about this stuff though, because I do tend to think that I fall into these behavior patterns. What other resources are out there to understand this more.
Trying to figure out if you might be on the spectrum can be confusing. It helps to do some research beyond the online tests, using them as a foundation. This post has more info about what other kinds of things you can research and think about: https://musingsofanaspie.com/2013/02/09/adult-asd-self-diagnosis-or-professional-diagnosis/ It’s part of the “adult diagnosis” that’s linked from the top of the page.
Also, not all psychologists are well-versed in what adult Asperger’s looks like, so don’t put too much stock in any one person’s opinion especially if they’re not an autism specialist.
I took the test and scored 9 on EQ and 33 on SQ. I’ve never been diagnosed with anything, although my parents apparently considered taking me to a specialist when I was younger. Also, I’m an INTJ.
I think this test is a little weird; as one fills it out one can’t help knowing exactly what result one will receive. In other words, it’s too predictable, unless it’s meant to be.
I got a 9 on the EQ test, and 192 on the Ritvo Autism Diagnostic test. Can’t say I’m surprised. I’ve never been diagnosed with autism, possibly because I try to hide my abnormalities from people. When I’m in front of a therapist I just sit there until they have something to say. I’m not sure if they like the sound of their own voices, or just don’t ask me the right questions. I was just classed as a “weird” kid when I was younger, and no one bothered to dig any deeper. I’m also INTJ, having taken the MBTI twice with the same result. One time I took it was part of a school project. I was the only INTJ in class, and the teacher (we mutually disliked each other) had a great time comparing me to Hannibal Lecter. Sigh…
I wondering now that I’m an adult if it’s even worth getting a diagnosis. Do you think it would do any good?
INTJs are apparently quite rare. I’m rather proud of being a rarity, since that seems to be an ongoing theme in my life. And your teacher sounds like an ass.
What you say about learning to hide our differences is probably the number one reason that some of us manage to grow up and get well into adulthood while staying undiagnosed. Getting a diagnosis is helpful if you think having confirmation of why you’re different would be validating or help you make more sense of your life. Some people need that outside confirmation and others are fine with coming to their own conclusion. The other reason people seek a formal diagnosis is to ask for disability-related accommodations at work or school. If you don’t need that, then it just comes down to peace of mind mostly. I’ve written in depth about this if you want to explore some more: https://musingsofanaspie.com/2013/02/09/adult-asd-self-diagnosis-or-professional-diagnosis/
I hope that whatever decision you make, learning more about autism helps you understand yourself better, because that’s really the biggest benefit.
Baron Cohen’s tests seem to be weighted to promote his own theories. The theoies are contradicted by much more scientificly rigorous research carried out in Berlin and Japan.
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/5856769_Dissociation_of_cognitive_and_emotional_empathy_in_adults_with_Asperger_syndrome_using_the_Multifaceted_Empathy_Test_%28MET%29
http://www.nature.com/tp/journal/v4/n1/full/tp2013113a.html
These findings are confirmed by the vast majority of Aspies I have spoken to who are confused by the low-EQ theory – as in real life they experience the same (or enhanced) levels of emotional senstivity and empathy when compared to the general population, even though their cognitive empathy (ability to read social siuations and comply with social norms tends to be lower).
Don’t know why I said Japan (above). The researchers were from Switzerland, Sweden, US etc.
Well, i scored a whopping zero. Yup. ZERO. So, either there’s a thing wrong with the test, or i’m way more messed up than i thought. I’m really kind of hoping its the test.
I also scored a zero.
At least you know you are not alone.
I got a 63.0 ♡
Musingsofanaspie:
One question: Who is the Scientist?
I got a 47 on this test, a 33 on the Asperger’s Quotient and 113/116 on the Autism spectrum test. The only reason I’m taking them is because two people — my girlfriend and a stranger who noticed how I do things — wondered if I had it. Neurologists and psychologists have never said I did, but now I wonder.
Musingsofanaspie:
One question: Who is the Scientist?
I think that most people think of empathy as the ability to care about people and commiserate with their pain — particularly to understand how it feels to be someone else. This is something I try to do every day when I write fiction — to honor the dead, which is something I consider it my duty to do — but I don’t think this test measures that. It measures one’s ability to recognize the signs of how someone feels and to access a frame of reference for what that means, which is a very specific and technical definition of empathy. I imagine that any novelist with Apserger’s or autism would try just as hard as I do (assuming I don’t have it, which is questionable) to understand how it feels to be someone else who’s in pain. The test isn’t really a fair assessment of that and makes people sound a lot colder than they are. I can feel the warmth in a lot of the responses on this page, and to me, that is proof of empathy and consideration for others.
I got a 47 on the empathy test, a 33 on the Asperger’s Quotient and 113/116 on the Autism spectrum test. The only reason I’m taking them is because two people — my girlfriend and a stranger who noticed how I do things — wondered if I had Aspergers. Neurologists and psychologists have never said I did, but now I wonder. I tend to twitch and make gestures, which makes them more concerned about mild Tourette’s.
G’day,
Interesting test but I think it fails to address environmental and social issues that may affect it. How this could be done I don’t know. Could be the subject of further testing. ie third world, affluent, trauma, etc.
Anyway I did the test out of curiosity and noted environmental/social changes that have affected myself. I moved from country NSW to a rural community in (Tasmania.) Tasmania definitely has an impact, empathy appears to be very low here. (Honest observation without intent to insult)
My score was 60 but I suspect it would once have been significantly higher as I have deliberately desensitized myself over the past few years to cope with social deterioration and the different culture of Tasmania.
I answered the questions as honestly as I could which is why I noticed the changes I had made both consciously and sub consciously.
I like the test.
Male
I scored 0.0 on the empathy quotient and a 47.0 on the autism spectrum quotient.
I’m a female.
I scored 71/80 on EQ and 9/50 on some AQ test, which is not surprising as I am an ENFP; the “way too sensitive” people-loving repetition-fearing social butterfly type. I also have mirror-touch synesthesia which correlates with higher cognitive empathy (but not the others). On the other hand I absolutely loathe fashion and love having a unique style of my own, so I definitely lost some points there haha! Totally worth it!! 😛
Anyway, I wanted to provide a perspective from the other side. My ex-boyfriend is on the spectrum and it certainly made for an interesting time being with him. He would often accidentally upset strangers by being really rude (without realizing it of course), which made me feel terrible because I strongly feel what people around me feel and I have no control over that. Walking around with him in public places was always a bit of an emotional roller coaster ride for me lol! He also upset me unintentionally from time to time and had a difficult time understanding why I was so hurt even when he was really rude.
That said, it’s clear he was not at all without feelings and I could tell he was really sorry and concerned when I was hurt by something he did. He just didn’t understand what happened or why I was hurt by it. He is actually a really caring person, one of the most internally sensitive people I know. He just doesn’t do a very good job of externalizing it or being immediately empathetic with people. I have noticed a similar thing with other people on the spectrum whom I have talked with. I feel like people on the spectrum feel at least as much as we NTs do, but just have a really difficult time figuring out just what to do with those feelings?
Anyway, I also noticed a lot of you here are INTJs. You guys are really rare in real life and always hiding from us extroverts, but INTJs and ENFPs make the best of friends! Really, you guys are great and you don’t like to say it but I know you secretly love us too! 😛 Also, the teacher who compared an earlier poster to Hannibal Lecter sounds awful!! What about Nikola Tesla? Stephen Hawking? Nietzsche? Newton? So many more, among them a bunch of US presidents…
I have an INTJ friend (not exactly a massive sample size, I know) and I have indeed noticed that she is less empathetic than average despite not being on the spectrum, but she is certainly not evil or heartless, quite the opposite. She just values different things than I do sometimes, like justice over mercy, facts over feelings and solitude over parties. Those are all excellent assets for what she does (STEM), whereas I would be terrible at her job. I can certainly see how you would score really low if you happen to fall into both categories though. I also wonder whether there is any correlation between the two at all, or if there happens to be so many of you in this thread because INTJs just like to hang out on the internet?
I don’t think I really had a point with my post, I just found this post and comments thread really interesting to read and being your typical annoying extrovert I just had to butt into the conversation, didn’t I? I will show myself the door now! 🙂
Many autistic report being empathy sponges as well. I scored low on the EQ, but I actually scored higher on it than the SQ.
The link isn’t working but I found one on google.
Thanks to all for sharing your journey on the path to know and understand yourself/others. It is very helpful to learn about your experience. I, a practicing therapist, am still reverberating from discovering at age 80, that I am ADHD and probably also “on the [autistic] spectrum.”
Apparently a goodly assortment of ADD folks share this dual diagnosis. And according to everything I read – there may be no two “Aspies” alike, making it even more complex to figure out the tendencies of someone who combines the above Dx. What I do know, from clinical practice, is that ADD people are often likely to “resonate” with the emotional energy they pick up from “the other,” without realizing those feelings don’t originate in their own psyche.
On a different point, my pedantic Asperger’s self can’t refrain from mentioning Simon Baron-Cohen’s early infant studies at Cambridge University where he discovered that high levels of testosterone were correlated with later diagnosed Autism. (Baron-Cohen sat on this research for years lest some might misuse the findings in a destructive, anti-feminist manner.) The book he wrote, The Essential Difference, is a most interesting, thoughtful book – If one can put aside any confounding political bias. 🙂
E3
My EQ score is 6/ 80, which is a very low EQ score,LOL. I am also a 14 year old female, which makes my score even more ridiculous.
P.s. I am an INTP, not an INTJ.
I’m undiagnosed but am in the process of getting an assessment off the back of a LOT of anecdotal evidence suggesting I’m very probably HFAS…
Ooops! Didn’t realise was …
I can’t access the test from the link. Anyone do this recently?
Interesting that, as a newly-diagnosed person on the spectrum, I was still able to score a 38. I have always gotten an “average” score on EQ tests, also.