Toronto Empathy Questionnaire — Emotional Intelligence Test for Compassion and Empathy
Multiple-choice measure of emotional empathy and compassion toward others.
The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ) is a standardized, multiple-choice measure widely used to assess emotional empathy and compassionate responding toward others. This Emotional Intelligence test focuses on your ability to share and respond to others' feelings, measuring core empathy skills like emotional resonance, sensitivity to distress, and pro-social concern. Completing the TEQ can help you understand your natural empathic tendencies and identify areas for personal development in emotional intelligence, social connection, and relationship building.
This online TEQ quiz features clear, research-based items and a simple scoring system to produce a reliable empathy score. Whether you're curious about your own compassion level, preparing for coaching, or using the results to improve interpersonal skills at work or home, this empathy assessment offers actionable insights and practical recommendations. Try the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire now to measure your emotional intelligence, enhance social understanding, and learn evidence-based strategies to grow your empathy.
I often have tender, concerned feelings for people less fortunate than me.
Assess whether you naturally feel concern for others in difficult circumstances.
When I see someone being taken advantage of, I feel kind of protective towards them.
Measures empathic concern and desire to help others when they are wronged.
I tend to get emotionally involved with a friend’s problems.
Evaluates emotional responsiveness when someone close is in distress.
I can’t stand to see people cry.
Captures your sensitivity to others’ overt displays of emotion.
Other people’s misfortunes do not usually disturb me a great deal.
This is a reverse-scored item assessing emotional detachment.
It upsets me to see someone being treated disrespectfully.
Measures emotional reaction to injustice and disrespect.
I remain unaffected when someone close to me is happy or sad.
Reverse-scored item measuring lack of emotional responsiveness.
I am often quite touched by things like watching a sad movie.
Assesses emotional contagion and sensitivity to evocative stimuli.
People ask me to help them make decisions about personal things.
Reflects perceived reputation for being empathetic and supportive.
I find I am concerned for people who are less fortunate than me.
Measures compassionate concern for those in need.
I often find myself feeling pity for those who are suffering.
Assesses sympathetic feelings toward others in distress.
When someone else is feeling upset I tend to lose control over my own feelings.
Captures strong emotional contagion in response to others' distress.
I sometimes find it difficult to see things from another person’s point of view.
Reverse-scored item assessing perspective-taking challenges.
I often find that I’m affected by other people’s emotional states.
Evaluates general susceptibility to others' moods and feelings.
I would describe myself as a pretty soft-hearted person.
Assesses self-perceived compassion and warmth toward others.
I am not really interested in others’ feelings.
Reverse-scored item measuring disinterest in others' emotions.
Frequently asked questions
The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire is a validated self-report measure designed to assess emotional empathy and compassionate responding. It contains items that evaluate emotional resonance, concern for others, and responsiveness to emotional cues. The TEQ score provides a single summary value reflecting a person's emotional empathy level.
Each item is answered on a five-point scale. Responses are assigned numeric values (0–4) and summed to produce a total score ranging from 0 to 64. Some items are reverse-scored to control for response bias; the sum of all item values yields the final empathy score.
Yes, the TEQ has been studied in psychological research and reports acceptable reliability and validity as a brief measure of emotional empathy. It is widely used for screening and research but should not replace a comprehensive clinical assessment when required.
You can retake the TEQ periodically to track changes, especially after targeted empathy-building activities (e.g., coaching, therapy, volunteering). A reasonable interval is every 4–12 weeks to allow for meaningful change while avoiding short-term variability.
Yes. Empathy is a skill that can be developed with intentional practice. Techniques that help include active listening, perspective-taking exercises, compassion meditation, reflective journaling, and volunteering. Practice combined with feedback often produces measurable improvements in empathy and related emotional intelligence skills.
The TEQ is useful as a screening and research tool to assess emotional empathy but is not a diagnostic instrument on its own. Clinicians may use TEQ scores alongside interviews and other assessments to inform treatment planning, especially for social or affective difficulties.
Low scores suggest less tendency to emotionally resonate or respond to others’ feelings, which might affect social connections. Moderate scores indicate a balanced empathy profile. High scores show strong emotional responsiveness and compassion, but may also signal risk for emotional overload if not managed with self-care.
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