Empathy is the ability to sense other people’s emotions, coupled with the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling. Research suggests that empathic people tend to be moregenerous and concerned with others’ welfare, and they also tend to have happier relationships and greater personal well-being. Empathy can also improve leadership ability and facilitate effective communication.
The following quiz will help you find out. It draws from three scientifically validated scales that researchers have created to measure empathy:
the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire, developed by Nathan Spreng and his colleagues;
the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, developed by Mark Davis;
and the Emotion Specific Empathy Questionnaire, developed by Sally Olderbak and her colleagues.
