Emotional Awareness Test (EAQ)

The Emotional Awareness Questionnaire (EAQ) was introduced by Claude Steiner in his 2003 book Emotional Literacy: Intelligence with a Heart. It contains 36 statements in six groups of six, answered Yes, No, or Not Sure. This adaptation shows the six areas as separate bars and adds a Total Emotional Awareness bar. The total is the equally weighted mean of the six six-item scale percentages after aligning their score directions. It is an author-defined reflection score for this adaptation; Steiner did not publish or validate a composite EAQ score.

The first three bars are keyed so that higher scores contribute in the positive direction to the new total. Emotional Presence reverses the published Emotional Numbness count, so a higher bar means fewer Yes answers about muted or absent emotional responses. Body Ease reverses Physical Symptoms, so it reflects fewer endorsed bodily complaints in emotional or interpersonal situations. Emotional Calm reverses Chaotic Primal Experience, so it reflects fewer endorsed experiences of confusing or overwhelming feelings and difficulty discussing them. The original six-item groups are preserved; only their scoring direction changes in this adaptation.

The second half of the chart shifts from challenging experiences to everyday emotional capacities, where higher scores reflect endorsing more items about recognizing and working with feelings. Feeling Clarity corresponds to the published Differentiation scale, made up of six Yes-count items about recognizing and distinguishing one's own feelings across states like anger, fear, love, and joy. Empathy corresponds to the published Empathy scale, which includes six Yes-count items about recognizing, sharing, and responding to others' feelings in daily life. Finally, Social Attunement corresponds to the published Interactivity scale, consisting of six Yes-count items about handling emotional situations and adjusting interaction to others' feelings, whether by helping calm a tense room or sharing in positive group moments.

The six bars cover distinct experiences and capacities, so the total is a broad summary rather than a claim that these areas are interchangeable. A higher total reflects more responses keyed toward emotional presence, awareness of feelings, empathy, and social responsiveness. Steiner cautioned that the EAQ is not a scientifically valid test of emotional literacy; this adaptation is not a diagnosis or a validated measure of emotional intelligence, and no profile is inherently good or bad. The population markers shown with the chart are estimates for context, not validated percentiles or published EAQ norms; Steiner provides no population norm table. Because Steiner included no population norms, the chart's average markers are AI estimates for context only; they do not show where you rank in a representative sample, and small differences should not be treated as meaningful. The total gives one accessible summary by averaging the six direction-aligned percentages equally, since every scale has six items. That convenient summary does not prove these distinct areas form a single validated psychological trait. Read it alongside the individual bars and reflect on the everyday situations behind your answers rather than treating one number as a fixed label.

This test is provided for educational and self-reflection purposes only. It is not a clinical screening tool, a diagnostic instrument, or a validated measure of emotional intelligence, and no profile pattern is inherently good or bad. This online adaptation is based on the Emotional Awareness Questionnaire (EAQ) from Claude Steiner's Emotional Literacy: Intelligence with a Heart (2003) and is not affiliated with Claude Steiner or Personhood Press.

References

• Steiner, C. (2003). Emotional Literacy: Intelligence with a Heart. Personhood Press.

Frequently Asked Questions

Take Test