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Interpersonal Reactivity Index

IRI
psychologysocial scienceshealth sciencesFree for research use

Permission: Free for research use. Free for non-commercial academic research, with no license fee. Cite the original publication.

A 28-item multidimensional measure of dispositional empathy, comprising four 7-item subscales: Perspective Taking (cognitive empathy), Fantasy (imaginative identification), Empathic Concern (other-oriented affect), and Personal Distress (self-oriented affect).

Items
28
Response format
5-point response scale
Version
1.0
Subscales
4

Ready-to-cite methods sentence

Dispositional empathy was assessed with the 28-item Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI; Davis, 1980, 1983) across four 7-item subscales: Perspective Taking, Fantasy, Empathic Concern, and Personal Distress. Subscale scores were computed after reverse-scoring the nine relevant items; standardized alphas in the original development samples ranged from .68 to .79 (Davis, 1980).

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Reliability & validation

Notes
Test-retest over 60 to 75 days in 109 University of Texas undergraduates: .61 to .79 for men and .62 to .81 for women (Davis, 1980).
Validation population
Undergraduate students
Test–retest
0.61–0.79
Cronbach's α
0.68–0.79

Subscales

Perspective TakingFantasyEmpathic ConcernPersonal Distress

Response anchors

Does not describe me well (A) · B · C · D · Describes me very well (E)

Known limitations

The four subscales tap distinct constructs and should be reported separately; a single total IRI score is not recommended. The original sample was US undergraduates, and item wording (e.g., the gendered phrase in item 25) dates the instrument; some later reproductions update it.

Original citation

Davis, M. H. (1980). A multidimensional approach to individual differences in empathy. JSAS Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology, 10, 85.

Questions researchers ask

What does the IRI measure?

A 28-item multidimensional measure of dispositional empathy, comprising four 7-item subscales: Perspective Taking (cognitive empathy), Fantasy (imaginative identification), Empathic Concern (other-oriented affect), and Personal Distress (self-oriented affect).

How many items does the IRI have?

The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) has 28 items across 4 subscales: Perspective Taking, Fantasy, Empathic Concern, Personal Distress.

Is the IRI free to use?

The IRI is free to use for non-commercial academic research. You don't need to pay a license fee, but you should always cite the original publication.

Is the IRI reliable?

Validation studies report Cronbach's α of 0.68–0.79, test–retest reliability of 0.61–0.79. See the reliability section for the population studied and full statistics.

Who developed the IRI, and how do I cite it?

Davis, M. H. (1980). A multidimensional approach to individual differences in empathy. JSAS Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology, 10, 85.

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Library entry verified September 2026. Metadata is provided for reference. Questionnaires are built in Folio Surveyor, subject to each instrument's licensing, and can be taken to Qualtrics, Google Forms or Microsoft Forms, with their CSV responses brought back for scoring.