Scale of Empathic Tendencies Development Test

Understand how easily you connect with others’ feelings and perspectives in about 7 minutes. Get a fast, practical snapshot of strengths and gaps across key empathy skills in just 36 items.
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Questions367 minutes
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08:30
October 2, 2025
October 2, 2025
Material has been updated
14,851 view
1,561 completion
1,379 likes
Verified by Daniel Hall
Psychologist with 25 years of experience
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How the Scales are Structured

example score
8/15
In Interpersonal Relationships (IIR)
Measures empathy shown in interpersonal communication, including noticing, understanding, and considering others’ emotions.
Lower
Moderate
Higher
05Lower610Moderate1115Higher
A score of 8 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a generally adequate ability to take others’ feelings into account during communication, with room to strengthen consistency or depth.
example score
12/15
With Fictional Characters (WFC)
Measures the tendency to empathically engage with characters in fiction through imagination and emotional involvement.
Low
Moderate
High
05Low610Moderate1115High
A score of 12 falls in the High range, suggesting strong imaginative immersion and emotional attunement to literary and cinematic characters.
example score
7/15
With Children (WC)
Assesses the tendency to empathize with and understand children's emotional states in interactions with them.
Lower
Moderate
Higher
05Lower610Moderate1115Higher
A score of 7 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a situationally expressed ability to recognize and share children's feelings that may vary by context.
example score
6/15
Toward Older Adults (TOA)
Measures how readily a person empathizes with and responds to the feelings and needs of elderly people.
Lower empathy
Moderate empathy
Higher empathy
05Lower empathy610Moderate empathy1115Higher empathy
A score of 6 suggests a moderate tendency to notice and emotionally relate to elderly people’s experiences, with room to strengthen consistency and depth of empathic response.
example score
2/15
Toward Animals (TA)
Assesses the tendency to empathize with and care about the emotional states and well-being of animals.
Low
Moderate
High
05Low610Moderate1115High
A score of 2 falls in the Low range, suggesting a relatively limited tendency to emotionally resonate with animals or prioritize their feelings.
example score
7/15
With Parents (WP)
Measures the tendency to empathize with and understand parents' emotional states in family relationships.
Low
Moderate
High
05Low610Moderate1115High
A score of 7 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a generally present but not consistently strong capacity to attune to and share parents’ feelings.
example score
66/90
Empathic Tendencies Development (ETD)
Assesses the tendency to perceive others’ emotions and engage in empathic understanding during interpersonal interactions.
Low
Typical
High
036Low3762Typical6390High
A score of 66 falls in the High range, suggesting a pronounced tendency to notice and resonate with others’ emotional states in social situations.
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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Helping professionals
41%OF USERS
Counselors, teachers, coaches, and healthcare workers take it to gauge how well they tune into others’ feelings and where they may need to improve.
Team and HR leaders
33%OF USERS
Managers and HR specialists use it to understand interpersonal dynamics in teams and identify who may need support in communication and perspective-taking.
Self-development seekers
26%OF USERS
People focused on personal growth take it to check their baseline empathy and learn what helps them connect more deeply in relationships.
BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.
RESULTS YOU CAN ACTUALLY USE

Scale Results
— Explained Clearly
Your scores across each test scale are translated into plain, usable insights. You won’t just get numbers — you’ll learn how your results impact your daily life, emotional state, and overall well-being.
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Interpretation
You’ll receive a structured, clinically-grounded explanation. Our AI analyzes patterns and relationships between scales to provide a coherent interpretation, without exaggerated language.
Statistical
Comparison
See how your results compare to others. Anonymized platform data is used to create a percentile scale, which identifies whether your results are typical.
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Recommendations
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Insights
Get insights on behavioral and thought patterns you might not notice on your own. By uncovering subtle connections between your responses, you’ll better understand what may be driving your current results.
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Used in 52+ countries
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.
in interpersonal relationships (iir)
Average
10.5
Normal range
8.312.7
min.
0
max.
15
Majority
This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.
with characters from literary works (wcflw)
Average
8.7
Normal range
611.5
min.
0
max.
15
Majority
This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.
with children (wc)
Average
8.7
Normal range
6.211.1
min.
0
max.
15
Majority
This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.
with elderly people (wep)
Average
8.1
Normal range
5.610.7
min.
0
max.
15
Majority
This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.
with animals (wa)
Average
10.9
Normal range
8.713
min.
0
max.
15
Majority
This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.
with parents (wp)
Average
10.8
Normal range
8.413.3
min.
0
max.
15
Majority
This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.
Scale of Empathic Tendencies Development (SoETD)
Average
64.6
Normal range
49.280
min.
0
max.
90
Majority
This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.
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CLEAR ANSWERS TO COMMON QUESTIONS

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this assessment measure?
It estimates a tendency toward empathy, including sensitivity to social cues and the ability to take another person’s perspective. It also reflects how well emotional impressions of others are retained.
How long does it take and how many items are included?
Completion time is approximately 7 minutes. The assessment includes 36 items.
What types of tasks are included?
Items assess perspective taking, affiliation, and emotional responsiveness in everyday social situations. Responses are used to estimate several components of empathic development.
How should results be interpreted?
Scores indicate relative strengths and gaps across empathy-related components. Results should be interpreted as screening information rather than a definitive clinical conclusion.
What limitations should be considered?
The tool does not include built-in validity or reliability checks for response bias. Results may be affected by inconsistent item wording across versions and should be interpreted with caution.
WHAT THE TEST MEASURES
About This Assessment
Scale of Empathic Tendency Development Test

Scale of Empathic Tendencies Development Test - Symptoms and Signs

This measure is used to estimate individual differences in empathic disposition and related interpersonal tendencies. The Scale of Empathic Tendencies Development is typically administered as a self-report questionnaire to characterize how a person perceives and responds to others’ emotional experiences.

Developed by Mark H. Davis, it contains 36 items and takes about 7 minutes to complete. Results are generally interpreted as reflecting trait-like empathic tendencies and may be used to inform clinical formulation or research hypotheses, with interpretation guided by the examinee’s context and other assessment data.

The Scale of Empathic Tendencies Development is best used as one component of a broader assessment battery rather than a stand-alone indicator of functioning, and scores should be considered alongside interview findings, behavioral observations, and relevant collateral information.

Author: Mark H. Davis
Literature: Davis, M. H. Empathy: A social psychological approach. Westview Press. 1994.; Decety, J., & Jackson, P. L. The functional architecture of human empathy. Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Reviews. 2004.; Batson, C. D. Altruism in humans. Oxford University Press. 2011.
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