Emotion Regulation (Critic Ratings) Test
How the Scales are Structured
Who Usually Takes This Test?
See How You Compare
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.
Example Questions From the Test
- This is never true of this person
- This is rarely true of this person
- This is sometimes true of this person
- This is often true of this person
- This is always true of this person
- This is never true of this person
- This is rarely true of this person
- This is sometimes true of this person
- This is often true of this person
- This is always true of this person
- This is never true of this person
- This is rarely true of this person
- This is sometimes true of this person
- This is often true of this person
- This is always true of this person
Emotion Regulation (Critic Ratings) Test - Description and methodology of the test
People who want to understand how someone handles strong feelings-whether their own or another person’s-can use the Emotion Regulation (Critic Ratings) Test as a structured reflection tool. It suits a respondent rating a person they know, such as a partner, colleague, friend, or family member. An emotion regulation assessment can clarify recurring patterns in emotional control and interpersonal support without reducing the profile to a single trait.
What This Assessment Explores
The questions examine two sides of emotional functioning: personal reactions and responses to someone who is distressed, angry, discouraged, or lacking motivation. Ratings are clearest when based on repeated interactions rather than one memorable event. The profile separates emotional self-regulation from the ability to provide emotional support.
The result presents two dimensions:
- Regulation of Others' Emotions (-20-20) shows how strongly the profile reflects calming, encouraging, motivating, and supportive responses. Its bands are Limited support (-20--5), Situational support (-4-8), and Strong support (9-20).
- Self-Emotion Regulation (-20-20) reflects control of personal reactions, coping with negative experiences, and maintaining emotional balance. Its bands are Low regulation (-20-0), Moderate regulation (1-9), and High regulation (10-20).
Together, these dimensions distinguish steadying oneself from helping another person cope. Higher results indicate stronger ability in each scale's direction; lower results indicate more difficulty.
Methodology and Scientific Basis
Each statement uses five ordered options, from never true of this person to always true of this person. Items cover emotional visibility, control of reactions, feeling overwhelmed, calming others, lifting mood, motivation, and responses to anger. Because an observer rates the person, the result reflects perceived emotion regulation skills rather than private experience.
The questionnaire displays two scores, but it does not state a point-by-point weighting rule or provide norms; the displayed bands should therefore be read as the supplied interpretations rather than inferred from the ranges.
EROS (Niven et al., 2011) is the closest conceptual reference because it separates self- and other-emotion regulation. Austin and O'Donnell (2013) adds evidence relevant to interpersonal emotion management. Gross and Thompson (2007) provide a process model. The interpersonal items ask about calming anger, lifting mood, restoring motivation, and responding to another person's distress. This questionnaire is conceptually consistent with these works, not the published instruments themselves.
The questionnaire is not normed or standardized. Conflict, memory, expectations, and limited access to inner experience can shape ratings, so the result is a reflection profile, not a clinical conclusion.
- Niven, K., Totterdell, P., Stride, C. B., & Holman, D. (2011). Emotion Regulation of Others and Self (EROS): The Development and Validation of a New Individual Difference Measure. Current Psychology, 30(1), 53-73. 10.1007/s12144-011-9099-9
- Austin, E. J., & O'Donnell, M. M. (2013). Development and preliminary validation of a scale to assess managing the emotions of others. Personality and Individual Differences, 55(7), 834-839. 10.1016/j.paid.2013.07.005
- Gross, J. J., & Thompson, R. A. (2007). Emotion regulation: Conceptual foundations. In J. J. Gross (Ed.), Handbook of Emotion Regulation (pp. 3-24). Guilford Press.
- Davis, M. H. (1996). Empathy: A Social Psychological Approach. Westview Press.