Empathy Quotient (EQ)

Background / Development

Developed by Simon Baron-Cohen and colleagues in 2004 at the University of Cambridge’s Autism Research Centre, the Empathy Quotient (EQ) was designed to measure empathy as a cognitive and emotional construct in adults.

The tool was originally created to investigate differences in empathy levels between autistic and non-autistic populations and has since become a widely used research and clinical screening measure.

Purpose / Intended Use

The EQ assesses an individual’s ability to recognize, understand, and respond to others’ emotional states.

It is intended for use in both clinical and non-clinical settings, providing insights into social functioning, interpersonal understanding, and emotional awareness.

In autism evaluation, lower EQ scores often accompany higher autistic-trait profiles, complementing measures like the AQ and RAADS-R.

The tool can also be used in research on personality, emotional intelligence, or social cognition.

Psychometric Properties

The EQ has demonstrated strong reliability and validity across numerous studies:

• Internal consistency: α ≈ 0.92
• Test–retest reliability: r ≈ 0.83
• Construct validity: negatively correlated with AQ and related autism measures
• Discriminant validity: effectively distinguishes autistic from neurotypical adults

It has been translated into multiple languages and validated cross-culturally, maintaining stable psychometric performance.

Structure and Content

The full EQ contains 60 self-report items, including 40 empathy-related statements and 20 filler items.

Respondents rate each item on a 4-point Likert scale (Strongly agree to Strongly disagree).

The measure captures two main empathy dimensions:

• Cognitive empathy: understanding another’s perspective or emotional state
• Affective empathy: emotional responsiveness and concern for others

Shorter versions (e.g., EQ-10, EQ-28) have been developed for faster screening in clinical or research contexts.

Scoring and Interpretation

Each empathy-related item scores 0–2 points depending on response direction, yielding a total possible score of 0–80.

• Higher scores = stronger empathy and social attunement
• Lower scores = reduced empathy or diminished sensitivity to others’ emotions

General guidance:

• 0–30: Low empathy (often observed in autism spectrum conditions)
• 31–51: Average range
• 52–80: High empathy

Scores should be interpreted contextually, with consideration for gender, neurotype, and co-occurring conditions (e.g., depression, alexithymia).

Clinical Application

The EQ is frequently used alongside the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) and RAADS-R in adult autism evaluations.

It provides valuable insight into social–emotional awareness and interpersonal engagement, informing clinical formulations and therapeutic planning.

The EQ also has applications in research on empathy deficits, occupational psychology, and relationship studies.

References / Sources

Baron-Cohen, S., & Wheelwright, S. (2004). The Empathy Quotient (EQ): An investigation of adults with Asperger Syndrome or High Functioning Autism, and normal sex differences. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34(2), 163–175. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JADD.0000022607.19833.00