The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) is a standard measure of dispositional (i.e. trait) empathy. The term "empathy" is used to denote a number of related but somewhat distinct ideas in the psychological literature. These different ideas are reflected in the four subscales of the IRI, which measure perspective taking ability, empathic concern for others' feelings, personal distress at others' pain, and ability to immerse oneself in fantasy, respectively.

The task you will engage in to complete the IRI is a simple survey. You will see 28 statements, one at a time, and rate them with respect to how well they apply to yourself on the 1-5 scale shown above (left). At the end of the study, you will be presented with histograms that reflect the distribution of other participants' responses on the IRI (overall, and on each subscale). Your scores relative to others will be shown via a vertical line, as shown above (right). Please note that receiving a high or low score on this survey is not necessarily a good or bad thing. There are both advantages and drawbacks to being very empathic, and only you can decide how to appropriately weigh the information the survey provides. If you wish to participate in the IRI, please click the button below.