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Emotional intelligence test · free result · no sign-up
Free EQ test
Most EQ tests only ask how you see yourself. This emotional intelligence test also puts you in 24 everyday situations with a best answer, then shows where the two agree and where they don't.
Free resultNo email or sign-upInstant resultAbout 20 minutes
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- Built on the four-branch model of emotional intelligence by Salovey and Mayer
- Real-life situations at work, at home and with strangers, each with a reasoned best answer
- Instant results, free and on screen, with no account
You understand people well, but you jump to solutions when things get hard
In short: this free EQ test measures emotional intelligence in two ways. Part 1 gives you 24 everyday situations, each with one best answer, covering the four skills of emotional intelligence: perceiving, using, understanding and managing emotions. Part 2 asks 20 questions about how you see yourself. Your result compares the two, which is where blind spots and hidden strengths show up. It is a beta version and an estimate, not a clinical or hiring test.
How the EQ test works
You answer two short parts, in about 20 minutes in total, and your answers are saved as you go.
- Part 1, situations: 24 short scenes, such as a colleague who says he's fine but clearly isn't, or a text from your sister that sounds polite but isn't. You choose what someone most likely feels, or what would help most, and how sure you are.
- Part 2, how you see yourself: 20 statements, such as “I can usually tell when someone is upset, even if they say they're fine”, from strongly disagree to strongly agree.
- Your result: instantly, on screen, with no sign-up.
What the questions are like
Here is one of the situations, with the answer and why. The test itself gives no feedback until the end, so your answers stay honest.
In a meeting, your manager says your report is “fine”. She doesn't look up from her laptop, and moves straight to the next item. What is she most likely signalling?
- AShe is very pleased with the report
- BShe is angry with you personally
- CShe has reservations, or her mind is elsewhere
- DShe feels embarrassed about how the meeting is going
See the best answer
C. A flat “fine” with no eye contact usually means mild doubts or distraction, so it's worth a short follow-up. A takes the word at face value; B reads far more into it than the clues support.
What you'll learn about yourself
Your result is a profile, not a single number.
Your four EQ skills
Perceiving, using, understanding and managing emotions, each shown as lower, typical or higher.
Blind spots and hidden strengths
Where your self-rating and your answers disagree, in either direction.
Your go-to reaction
What you tend to do when a moment gets hard: step back, fix it fast, brush it off or push back.
Where you read people best
At work, with people close to you, or with strangers, and how far you can trust your confidence.
The optional full report ($6.99) reviews every situation with the best answer and why, explains your reaction types, sets your EQ next to your IQ and Big Five results if you have them, and gives you a four-week practice plan. Exercises for each skill are also in our free guide to how to improve emotional intelligence.
Two ways to measure emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence tests come in two kinds, and they don't measure quite the same thing.
| Skill tests | Self-report questionnaires | |
|---|---|---|
| How they work | Situations or faces with a best answer | You rate statements about yourself |
| Examples | MSCEIT, this test's part 1 | EQ-i 2.0, most free online EQ quizzes, this test's part 2 |
| What they pick up | What you can do when you try | How you see yourself, which overlaps strongly with personality |
Self-rated emotional intelligence correlated about 0.85 with the factor the Big Five personality traits share in a meta-analysis of 142 data sources, against about 0.28 for emotional intelligence tested as a skill (van der Linden and others, 2017). That is why this test uses both, and compares them. For how emotional intelligence relates to IQ, see our guide to IQ vs EQ; for the MSCEIT, EQ-i 2.0 and other professional tests side by side, see emotional intelligence tests compared.
How accurate is an EQ test, and how is it scored?
An online EQ test gives an estimate. This one is a beta version, so here is exactly how it works.
- The situations come from a larger bank, mixed so each test covers all four skills and three settings. Each has one best answer. Answers about what people feel follow appraisal theory, which links emotions to how people see their situation, for example anger to being blocked unfairly by someone else (Smith and Ellsworth, 1985). Answers about handling feelings follow research on what works, such as putting feelings into words and rethinking a situation rather than bottling it up (Torre and Lieberman, 2018; Webb, Miles and Sheeran, 2012; Gross and John, 2003).
- Every wrong answer is a recognisable kind of mistake, such as taking words at face value or jumping to solutions, so your mistakes are informative too.
- Your bands compare your answers with the key: lower is under half right, higher is four in five or more. Once enough people have taken the test, we will add comparisons with other test-takers and check each question's answer against how people answer it.
- What is a good EQ score? There is no shared EQ scale: each test scores differently, so a number from one EQ test can't be compared with another. That is why we show bands and patterns rather than an invented “EQ 120”.
Lists of signs online are a useful prompt but a poor measure, because people are not good judges of their own emotional skills; our guide to the signs of emotional intelligence explains why. If you are taking the test for work, see emotional intelligence at work for what it does and doesn't predict.
Frequently asked questions
Is the EQ test free?
Yes. The test and your result, with your four skill bands, your blind spots, your go-to reaction and where you read people best, are free and shown on screen. You do not need an account or an email address. An optional full report costs $6.99 once, with no subscription.
How long does the EQ test take?
About 20 minutes: 24 short situations, each with four answers and a “How sure are you?” tap, then 20 quick statements. Your answers are saved as you go, so you can stop and finish later.
Is there an official EQ test?
No single test is official. Professional tests include the MSCEIT, a skill test built on the four-branch model of emotional intelligence, and the EQ-i 2.0, a self-report questionnaire. Both are given through trained professionals. Free online tests, including this one, give an estimate.
Is this the Empathy Quotient (EQ) test?
No. The Empathy Quotient is a different questionnaire with the same initials: 60 statements about empathy, developed by Simon Baron-Cohen and Sally Wheelwright and used in autism research. This test measures emotional intelligence, and it is not a screening tool for autism or any other condition.
How accurate is an EQ test?
It depends on the kind of test. Questionnaires where you rate yourself overlap strongly with personality, while skill tests with best answers measure something more distinct. This test uses both and shows where they disagree. It is a beta version, so treat the result as a well-founded estimate, not a precise measurement.
What is a good EQ score?
There is no single EQ scale: each test scores differently, so a number from one test can't be compared with another. This test shows each of your four skills as lower, typical or higher against its answer key, and will add comparisons with other test-takers once enough people have taken it.
Who is the EQ test for?
Adults and older teens who want to understand how they handle emotions, at work and in their relationships. It is not designed for hiring decisions, and it is not a clinical assessment.
Can I take the EQ test again?
Yes. Each time you get a different mix of situations from a larger set, so a retake is a fresh test. Each result has its own private link.
Is my result private?
Yes. We do not ask for your name or email. Your result has a private link that only you, and anyone you share it with, can open, and you can delete it from the result page at any time.
About the Assessivo EQ test
The Assessivo EQ test was written by Assessivo: the situations, answers and statements are our own, built on the four-branch model of emotional intelligence. It is a beta version for self-understanding, not a clinical, diagnostic or hiring assessment.
Sources
- Mayer, J. D., Caruso, D. R. and Salovey, P. (2016). The ability model of emotional intelligence: principles and updates. Emotion Review, 8(4), 290–300. doi
- Fiori, M. and others (2014). What is the ability emotional intelligence test (MSCEIT) good for? PLOS ONE, 9(6), e98827. doi
- Smith, C. A. and Ellsworth, P. C. (1985). Patterns of cognitive appraisal in emotion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48(4), 813–838. doi
- Gross, J. J. and John, O. P. (2003). Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(2), 348–362. doi
- Webb, T. L., Miles, E. and Sheeran, P. (2012). Dealing with feeling: a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of strategies derived from the process model of emotion regulation. Psychological Bulletin, 138(4), 775–808. doi
- Torre, J. B. and Lieberman, M. D. (2018). Putting feelings into words: affect labeling as implicit emotion regulation. Emotion Review, 10(2), 116–124. doi
- Gable, S. L. and others (2004). What do you do when things go right? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87(2), 228–245. doi
- Brooks, A. W. (2014). Get excited: reappraising pre-performance anxiety as excitement. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143(3), 1144–1158. doi
- Baas, M., De Dreu, C. K. W. and Nijstad, B. A. (2008). A meta-analysis of 25 years of mood-creativity research. Psychological Bulletin, 134(6), 779–806. doi
- van der Linden, D. and others (2017). Overlap between the general factor of personality and emotional intelligence: a meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 143(1), 36–52. doi
- Baron-Cohen, S. and Wheelwright, S. (2004). The empathy quotient. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34(2), 163–175. doi
See how you really handle emotions
Free EQ test, instant result, no sign-up.