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Scale of Empathic Tendencies Development3

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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Questions: 367 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

18,059 views

1,850 completions

1,624 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

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

0 – 5: Lower | 6 – 10: Moderate | 11 – 15: Higher

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

0 – 5: Low | 6 – 10: Moderate | 11 – 15: High

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

0 – 5: Lower | 6 – 10: Moderate | 11 – 15: Higher

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

0 – 5: Lower empathy | 6 – 10: Moderate empathy | 11 – 15: Higher 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

0 – 5: Low | 6 – 10: Moderate | 11 – 15: High

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

0 – 5: Low | 6 – 10: Moderate | 11 – 15: High

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

0 – 36: Low | 37 – 62: Typical | 63 – 90: High

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.

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

8.3 — 12.7

min.

max.

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

6 — 11.5

min.

max.

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

6.2 — 11.1

min.

max.

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

5.6 — 10.7

min.

max.

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

8.7 — 13

min.

max.

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

8.4 — 13.3

min.

max.

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

49.2 — 80

min.

max.

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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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

Please rate the following statements. There are no right or wrong answers; therefore, please respond as honestly as possible. Do not spend too much time thinking about each statement. The most accurate responses are those that come to mind first.

- Not sure
- No, never
- Sometimes
- Often
- Almost always
- Yes, always
- I don't know
- No, never
- Sometimes
- Often
- Almost always
- Yes, always
- I don't know
- No, never
- Sometimes
- Often
- Almost always
- Yes, always

These are 3 of the 36 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

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WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Scale of Empathic Tendency Development Test

Scale of Empathic Tendencies Development Test - Symptoms and Signs

empathy

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.