Social Intelligence Test (TSIS)
See what each side of social intelligence means, how it is scored, and how your result is read against the population that actually fits you.
The Tromso Social Intelligence Scale is a short, well-validated self-report measure of social intelligence - the ability to understand people and act wisely in social situations. It separates three related capacities: accurately reading others, handling interactions smoothly, and staying attuned to the social moment.
The model
What it measures
Select a facet to see what it captures. Each is scored from seven short statements rated on a 7-point describes-me scale, and a profile is most informative when the facets diverge - some people read others well yet act awkwardly, while others are smooth in interaction but less attuned to subtle cues.
The scale separates the cognitive side of social life - understanding and predicting people - from the behavioural side of actually handling interactions well. Social awareness is measured mostly through reverse-keyed items about being caught off guard, so a higher score means more awareness, not less.
Understanding and predicting other people - reading their feelings, motives and likely reactions accurately.
- SIPSocial Information Processing
Understanding and predicting other people - reading their feelings, motives and likely reactions accurately.
Facets: Reading feelings, Inferring motives, Predicting reactions, Understanding people.
- SSSocial Skills
Behaving effectively in social situations - starting conversations, fitting into new groups and adapting to the setting.
Facets: Starting conversations, Fitting into groups, Social ease, Adapting behaviour.
- SASocial Awareness
Perceiving social situations accurately and sensing when something has shifted, rather than being caught off guard.
Facets: Reading the room, Sensing change, Avoiding surprise, Social attunement.
The evidence
Science and validity
The idea of social intelligence dates to early-twentieth-century psychology but long proved hard to measure cleanly, partly because it overlaps with general intelligence and verbal ability. The TSIS approach treats it as a self-reported trait with three facets, and its three-factor structure has been replicated across many language adaptations; internal consistency for the facets generally falls between about .79 and .87, with social awareness the weakest cross-culturally.
You rate each of 21 statements from 1 (describes me extremely poorly) to 7 (describes me extremely well). The social-awareness items are mostly reverse-keyed, so that after reversal a higher value always means more of that capacity, and each facet is the mean of its seven items. There are no pass/fail cut-offs; the result is norm-referenced against a comparison group.
Where you stand
How a score becomes a percentile
A raw score only means something against a comparison group. For example, a Social Information Processing score of 5.3 on the 1-7 scale sits near the 75th percentile against adult data - reading people more accurately than roughly three in four adults. Drag the slider to see how a score on each facet maps to a percentile; your real result is matched to the population that fits you when you take the test.
Your result, visualised across every dimension
Take the test once and see a full profile like this example, each dimension placed against the population most relevant to you, with plain-language interpretation.
See my full profile →Example profile shown for illustration.
The reference data
Benchmarked against the population that fits you
We benchmark your result against the population that actually resembles you, across 15 reference groups.
Each reference group is used as its own benchmark, not to rank one country against another.
How it works
What the questions feel like
Illustrative statements showing the style of the items. These are examples, not the official scored items.
I can usually tell what someone is really feeling, even when they hide it.
Illustrative example, not an official scored item.
I find it easy to start a conversation with people I have just met.
Illustrative example, not an official scored item.
I am often surprised by how people react to what I say.
Illustrative reverse-worded example, not an official scored item.
I can predict how others will respond before they say anything.
Illustrative example, not an official scored item.
Honest strengths and limitations
Strengths
- Separates reading people, social skill and social awareness, so the profile shows where your social style is strong and where it is not.
- Short (about 6 minutes), free for research, and validated across many language adaptations.
- A well-replicated three-factor structure that distinguishes social from emotional and abstract intelligence.
Limitations
- It is a self-report of perceived social skill, so it reflects how you see your own social functioning, which can differ from how others experience you.
- The social-awareness facet is the least robust psychometrically and tends to be weaker outside Scandinavian samples, so read it as indicative.
- Cross-country mean comparisons are confounded by response styles and measurement differences, so percentiles are a guide, not a verdict.
See your full profile
A complete report, matched to the population that fits you, with plain-language interpretation of every trait.
Frequently asked questions
What does the social intelligence test measure?
It measures social intelligence as a self-reported trait across three facets - Social Information Processing (reading people), Social Skills (handling interactions), and Social Awareness (staying attuned to the social moment) - each from seven short statements.
How is social intelligence different from emotional intelligence?
They overlap but emphasise different things. Emotional intelligence centres on recognising and managing emotions; social intelligence centres on understanding people and navigating social situations - reading the room, fitting into groups, and predicting how others respond.
Can social intelligence be improved?
Yes. Unlike abstract intelligence, these components respond well to practice - paying deliberate attention to others, seeking honest feedback, and rehearsing specific situations all help. Retaking the test later can show whether your self-perception has shifted.
How long does it take?
About 6 minutes - 21 statements on a 7-point scale.
Related tests
- Kankaraš, M. (2017). Personality matters: Relevance and assessment of personality characteristics. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 157, OECD Publishing, Paris.
- Silvera, D. H., Martinussen, M., & Dahl, T. I. (2001). The Tromso Social Intelligence Scale, a self-report measure of social intelligence. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 42(4), 313-319.
- Kihlstrom, J. F., & Cantor, N. (2000). Social intelligence. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Handbook of Intelligence (pp. 359-379). Cambridge University Press.
The Tromso Social Intelligence Scale is the work of Silvera, Martinussen and Dahl (2001); this independent informational page describes the instrument.