I decided to test myself to see how good I am at finding “fake smiles” with the BBC test. 14 out of 20 correctly spotted. Not bad, but it still shows the difficulties people have in detecting fake smiles. Out of the six smiles I was unable to correctly identify, three of them were actually genuine while three of them were fake. So its not as if I’m more confused by fakes than by genuine smiles, it seems I am equally confused by both types.
The next test I took was the “Mind in the Eyes Test”, which showed different pictures of peoples eyes (and just their eyes) and asked me to choose between four choices of the possible mood the person was in. Out of thirty six questions, I got twenty eight correct. With an average range from twenty two to thirty, I feel as if I am able to judge emotions only from the eyes well enough, however I am not out of the ordinary in this. This seems like an odd test for empathy as looking at ones eyes and recognizing what they are feeling seems easier for someone who is more observant rather than just more empathetic.
One final test to round out the group was the “Empathy Quotient”. After answering several questions, I was given a score from 0 to 80. My score? 28. The normal score for any male? 42. Well, what am I to say to this? That I lack empathy? It’s entirely possible if empathy is being defined by sixty simple questions. It’s entirely possible that I am not empathetical in the same ways as people. It’s difficult to say though, as this is the only “empathy” test I have ever taken in my life. It does not seem very promising sadly.
