What does the reading people test measure?

We read other people all day long: we guess how a friend feels, whether a colleague really agrees, whether a stranger can be trusted. This test does not give you a score for how "good" you are at it. Instead, it describes how you read people, along three dimensions:

Attention – Body language (N) or Words (V): do you tune in first to faces, posture and tone of voice, or to what is actually said?
Empathy – Emotional (E) or Cognitive (C): do you understand people mainly by feeling with them, or by reasoning about their motives and circumstances?
Judgment – Intuitive (I) or Reflective (R): do you trust fast first impressions, or wait, gather evidence and revise?

The research behind it

The three dimensions draw on established ideas in psychology. Paul Ekman's research on facial expressions found that several basic emotions are expressed in recognisable ways across cultures. Empathy researchers distinguish affective empathy (sharing another person's feeling) from cognitive empathy (understanding their point of view). Studies of "thin slices" of behaviour by Nalini Ambady and Robert Rosenthal showed that brief first impressions carry real information, while a large review of lie-detection studies by Charles Bond and Bella DePaulo (2006) found that people spot lies only slightly better than chance. In short, every style has genuine strengths and predictable blind spots.

How it works

The test has 24 short statements and takes about 8 minutes. Rate how well each one describes you in everyday life. There are no right or wrong answers.

What you get

One of eight reading styles, such as the Emotional Radar or the Detective, with your strengths, blind spots, what your style means in relationships and at work, and practical tips.

An honest note: this is a tool for self-reflection, not a lie detector, a clinical assessment or a measure of emotional intelligence.