What is your level of emphaty

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People who have got to know me enough to get a feel of what I consist of have commented that I am extremely considerate and thoughtful and I will always seek to pursue this impression since it's what I have always broadcast. If I read the newspaper or watch tv I can shed tears several times a day as sappy as that is, when I go over murder cases or accidents (which I do a lot as I am compelled by such depressing occurrences because of the impact they carry in human cost and technical/psychological weight) I end up bawling and not a day goes by when I don't think of those who have suffered pain, death, sorrow across our world and through the years etc, I am a fountain of empathy, I can also feel deeply for things I know are just inanimate objects like chewing gum lol. This thing about ''lack empathy'' never fails to bewilder and astound me.

I initially received a score of 6 on this test. I thought "maybe I was just being overly dramatic in how I answered the questions" so I went back and changed a few of my answers in an attempt to mitigate my score. My new score was 9, so I guess I'm just a monster.

It's funny though because I do get really emotional about certain things, but it's usually something on TV or in film or in a book I read. I've never been able to get through Spock's death in Wrath of Khan without crying. I watched an animated short film on YouTube called "The Dog" recently. I went into that video thinking it would just be a fun cartoon about a cute puppy, but when it was over I was absolutely wrecked emotionally. Things with animals always hit me harder.

Part of the problem is that in psychiatry/psychology, and so also in this test, the technical definition of "empathy" doesn't match how the word is used in normal conversation. It's a much narrower sense of the word, along the lines of "do you instinctively have an idea how a certain situation is making some other person feel?", or "if you want to make another person feel a certain way, do you instinctively have an idea how to do that?" Whether or not it is instinctive or intuitive is just as important as whether you can usually work out the situation correctly. And it's always about your perception of another person's emotions, the fact that an event might make you have your own emotions that are very powerful doesn't enter into it.

It's possible to feel sympathy with someone in need, and so treat them considerately, even though you worked out how they are feeling in some other way. For example, maybe they just came out and told you, or you spent some time comparing the situation with memories and advice you've been told. But that's different to what the test is checking for.

The test is not intended to learn anything about a person's morality, the strength of their emotions, or how considerate they would be once they know that another person is in need. The trouble is, of course, that most people reading or hearing about "lack of empathy" will most likely take it to mean the everyday definition of the word, including a lot of healthcare workers (and many of them are confusing "empathy" with "sympathy" anyway!)

Whether any of that makes it a good screening test for autism is a whole different matter, of course. But whether it is a useful test or not, getting a low score doesn't make anyone a "monster" or a psychopath!

Just for the record, I scored 19 when I did the test at my formal assessment. (Prime number! )

Your Empathy Quotient score was 4 out of a possible 80.
Scores of 30 or less indicate a lack of empathy common in people with Autism or Asperger’s Syndrome.

Wow...

I SCORED A 7

(Phone call)
Wait ahat do you mean thats not a good thing?

I got 20! That's insane. Everyone is always telling me how empathetic I am.

I get terribly distressed about animal welfare, I love animals so much. It brings me to tears when animals are mistreated or injured and that's why I stopped continuing to study animal nursing.

My day job is actively helping people who are unable to complete daily tasks and live independently.

And my volunteer job is helping disadvantaged people using my special interest.

And many other things, such as always helping others before myself, not wanting to upset others etc.

What the...?

How can this be?

15 on the EQ test, compared to average score of 45

My first answe to this question was using the result i got when i took that test a while ago. I tried it again.
I scored a 4 now.

This really looks more like social than empathy to me. Empathy is like I can tell your emotions. I'm very empathetic, I can tell what people are feeling and experience sadness/joy etc when I feel that from people. What I usually can't do is explain why they have those emotions or understand the circumstances behind it. Which is very anxiety-inducing when it's anything other than happiness.

I got 18. :^)

I got 24/80 Dx

i thought my empathy would be much higher! now im second-guessing that maybe i answered the questions wrong? well,there are 3 levels of empathy after all, maybe i just have more of one than others??

39
Ha! That quack was wrong! Go t'jaaaaiil ah /goʊ'də dʒeːəl/

Lol did this the other day, got 20