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Interpersonal Sensitivity Questionnaire3

Interpersonal Sensitivity Questionnaire Test

In just 4 minutes, the Interpersonal Sensitivity Questionnaire Test uses 20 yes-or-no questions to explore how you notice, understand, and respond to other people’s emotions. Your result highlights empathy, helpfulness, understanding, and interest in others, offering a practical starting point for self-reflection and clearer communication.

Questions: 204 minutes

Interpersonal Sensitivity Questionnaire Test: sample question card

October 2, 2025October 2, 2025Material has been updatedOctober 2, 2025Material has been published

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2,142 completions

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Daniel Hall Psychologist · Test reviewer

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Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

HelpfulnessH

Measures willingness to provide support and practical assistance to other people.

example score1/5

1/5Low help tendencyexample score

0 – 2Low help tendency

3Moderate help tendency

4 – 5High help tendency

A score of 1 falls in the low range, suggesting a lower readiness to offer help or support in everyday interactions.

UnderstandingU

Measures how well a person understands and interprets other people’s motives, intentions, and actions in communication.

example score3/5

3/5Adequate understandingexample score

0 – 2Limited understanding

3Adequate understanding

4 – 5Strong understanding

A score of 3 suggests an adequate ability to grasp what others mean and to interpret their motives in typical interactions.

EmpathyE

Measures how readily a person understands and emotionally resonates with others' feelings.

example score3/5

3/5Moderateexample score

0 – 2Low

3Moderate

4 – 5High

A score of 3 indicates a moderate level of empathy, suggesting the person can empathize in many situations but may be less consistent under stress or ambiguity.

InterestI

Measures how actively a person shows interest in other people’s inner world and experiences during interaction.

example score2/5

2/5Low interestexample score

0 – 2Low interest

3Moderate interest

4 – 5High interest

A score of 2 suggests a lower tendency to engage deeply with others’ feelings and personal experiences in conversation.

Interpersonal Sensitivity IndexISI

Measures overall responsiveness to others’ emotional and behavioral cues, reflecting empathy, attentiveness, and readiness to support in interpersonal interactions.

example score80/100

80/100High sensitivityexample score

0 – 50Low sensitivity

51 – 75Moderate sensitivity

76 – 100High sensitivity

A score of 80 falls in the High sensitivity range, suggesting strong attunement to others’ feelings and a pronounced tendency to respond with empathy and support.

just completed the test

DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

HR and recruiters

41%OF USERS

Use it to screen candidates and place people in roles where empathy, tact, and responsiveness to others are essential.

Psychologists and coaches

34%OF USERS

Apply it in counseling, trainings, or group work to quickly assess empathy and choose suitable development exercises.

Team leads and managers

25%OF USERS

Take it to understand their own interpersonal style and improve communication and support within their teams.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Shaded area — where most people score

Dot — the average

You — your score lands on each curve after the test— your score, after the test

HelpH

You?

Average2

Typical rangeTypical1.3 – 2.7

Possible0 – 5

UnderstandingU

You?

Average3

Typical rangeTypical2.2 – 3.8

Possible0 – 5

EmpathyE

You?

Average3

Typical rangeTypical2.1 – 3.9

Possible0 – 5

InterestI

You?

Average3.6

Typical rangeTypical2.7 – 4.5

Possible0 – 5

Sensitivity Index to a PersonSItaP

You?

Average59.5

Typical rangeTypical44.1 – 74.9

Possible0 – 100

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

You are presented with a series of questions concerning characteristics of interactions with other people. Please read each statement carefully and indicate whether you agree with it by selecting Yes or No.

- Yes
- No
- Yes
- No
- Yes
- No

These are 3 of the 20 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

Interpersonal Sensitivity Questionnaire Test - Description and methodology of the test

empathy

People who want to understand their interpersonal habits can use the Interpersonal Sensitivity Questionnaire Test to reflect on how they notice, interpret, and respond to other people. This self-report invites personal reflection on emotional attunement, support, and everyday interaction. The profile can show which aspects of relating feel more developed and which may deserve attention in everyday interactions.

What This Assessment Explores

Items examine how a person notices emotional states, interprets motives, responds to feelings, offers help, and stays engaged with others’ problems. The profile presents four component dimensions and an overall index:

Helpfulness (0-5) measures willingness to support others: Low help tendency (0-2), Moderate help tendency (3-3), High help tendency (4-5).
Understanding (0-5) measures ability to interpret motives and actions: Limited understanding (0-2), Adequate understanding (3-3), Strong understanding (4-5).
Empathy (0-5) measures emotional responsiveness: Low (0-2), Moderate (3-3), High (4-5).
Interest (0-5) measures attention to inner experience: Low interest (0-2), Moderate (3-3), High interest (4-5).
Interpersonal Sensitivity Index (0-100) measures sensitivity to emotional and behavioral expressions: Low sensitivity (0-50), Moderate sensitivity (51-75), High sensitivity (76-100).

It is most useful for readers considering how their interpersonal style shapes listening, support, and mutual understanding.

Methodology and Scientific Basis

Each statement is answered yes or no, so the format is easy to complete but cannot show degrees of agreement or changing context. Items cluster around emotional cues, motives, empathic response, practical support, interest in another person’s experience, and continued listening. Understanding other people's emotions is one part of this broader pattern.

The questionnaire is conceptually consistent with Sensitivity to a Person Questionnaire (Maralov & Maralova, 2009), the closest named source for its interpersonal focus, but it is not presented as an adaptation of that work. Maralov and Romanyuk’s 2018 study links sensitivity with interaction positions, while Davis’s 1983 multidimensional empathy model treats empathy as more than one reaction. These sources provide context, not validation of this online version.

Results are shown for the four component scales and the Interpersonal Sensitivity Index. The questionnaire does not specify each answer’s point contribution, so its ranges should not be reverse-engineered into a scoring formula. The displayed bands describe this questionnaire’s score ranges, not population norms. Mood, self-awareness, and candor can influence self-report, so the profile is best used for structured reflection rather than diagnosis.

Author: G. M. Boyle, J. C. Zubrick

Literature:

Maralov, V. G., and Maralova, T. P. (2009). Worldview Attitudes and Sensitivity to a Person among Students-Future Psychologists. In Spiritual and Moral Education of Younger Generations: Collection of Scientific Articles on Problems of Nonviolence Pedagogy, edited by A. G. Kozlova, V. G. Maralov, and M. S. Gavrilova, pp. 183-190. Saint Petersburg: 67 Gymnasium, Verba Magistri.
Maralov, V. G., and Romanyuk, L. V. (2018). Influence of Sensitivity to a Person on Students’ Adoption of Interaction Positions. Knowledge. Understanding. Skill, no. 3, pp. 180-191. 10.17805/zpu.2018.3.17.
Davis, Mark H. (1983). Measuring Individual Differences in Empathy: Evidence for a Multidimensional Approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44(1), 113-126. 10.1037/0022-3514.44.1.113.

Updated: 2025-10-02