INTERPERSONAL REACTIVITY INDEX

The following statements inquire about your thoughts and feelings in a variety of situations. For each
item, indicate how well it describes you by choosing the appropriate letter on the scale at the top of
the page: A, B, C, , or !. "hen you have decided on your answer, fill in the letter on the answer
sheet ne#t to the item number. $!A !AC% &T!' CA$!F())* B!F+$! $!,-+.&./. Answer
as honestly as you can. Than0 you.
A.,"!$ ,CA)!:
A B C !
+!, .+T !,C$&B!, '!
!,C$&B! '! 1!$*
"!)) "!))
2. & daydream and fantasi3e, with some regularity, about things that might happen to me. 4F,5
6. & often have tender, concerned feelings for people less fortunate than me. 4!C5
7. & sometimes find it difficult to see things from the 8other guy9s8 point of view. 4-T5 4:5
;. ,ometimes & don9t feel very sorry for other people when they are having problems. 4!C5 4:5
<. & really get involved with the feelings of the characters in a novel. 4F,5
=. &n emergency situations, & feel apprehensive and ill:at:ease. 4-5
7. & am usually ob>ective when & watch a movie or play, and & don9t often get completely caught up in
it. 4F,5 4:5
?. & try to loo0 at everybody9s side of a disagreement before & ma0e a decision. 4-T5
@. "hen & see someone being ta0en advantage of, & feel 0ind of protective towards them. 4!C5
2A. & sometimes feel helpless when & am in the middle of a very emotional situation. 4-5
11. & sometimes try to understand my friends better by imagining how things loo0 from their
perspective. 4-T5
26. Becoming e#tremely involved in a good boo0 or movie is somewhat rare for me. 4F,5 4:5
27. "hen & see someone get hurt, & tend to remain calm. 4-5 4:5
2;. +ther people9s misfortunes do not usually disturb me a great deal. 4!C5 4:5
15. &f &9m sure &9m right about something, & don9t waste much time listening to other people9s
arguments. 4-T5 4:5
2=. After seeing a play or movie, & have felt as though & were one of the characters. 4F,5
2B. Being in a tense emotional situation scares me. 4-5
18. "hen & see someone being treated unfairly, & sometimes don9t feel very much pity for them.
4!C5 4:5
2@. & am usually pretty effective in dealing with emergencies. 4-5 4:5
6A. & am often quite touched by things that & see happen. 4!C5
62. & believe that there are two sides to every question and try to loo0 at them both. 4-T5
66. & would describe myself as a pretty soft:hearted person. 4!C5
67. "hen & watch a good movie, & can very easily put myself in the place of a leading
character. 4F,5
6;. & tend to lose control during emergencies. 4-5
6<. "hen &9m upset at someone, & usually try to 8put myself in his shoes8 for a while. 4-T5
26. "hen & am reading an interesting story or novel, & imagine how & would feel if the events in the
story were happening to me. 4F,5
6B. "hen & see someone who badly needs help in an emergency, & go to pieces. 4-5
6?. Before critici3ing somebody, & try to imagine how & would feel if & were in their place. 4-T5
.+T!: 4:5 denotes item to be scored in reverse fashion
-T C perspective:ta0ing scale
F, C fantasy scale
!C C empathic concern scale
- C personal distress scale
A C A
B C 2
C C 6
C 7
! C ;
!#cept for reversed:scored items, which are scored:
A C ;
B C 7
C C 6
C 2
! C A