Use the CAT-Q to explore compensation, masking and fitting in during social situations.
25 questions
8 min
Free, no sign-up
Self-check
Results on screen · no email
Published by MyTestAtlas. For self-reflection. This self-check does not provide a diagnosis. Updated .
About this test
The CAT-Q has 25 statements and reports three subscales separately: compensation (social strategies), masking (managing how you appear) and assimilation (effort to fit in).
What this test looks at
Compensation · 9 statements
Masking · 8 statements
Assimilation · 8 statements
Time
8 minutes
Questions
25
Result
a score for each pattern
Time frame
Please read each statement below and choose the answer that best fits your experiences during social interactions.
Source
The 25 published CAT-Q items of Hull, Mandy, Lai, Baron-Cohen, Allison, Smith and Petrides (2019), verbatim under CC BY 4.0; changed here to a 5-point scale, no total.
The CAT-Q uses a seven-point response scale; this page uses five points. It reports the three subscales separately and does not calculate the published total or comparison values.
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Your progress
Review
You answered every question
See your result now, or go back and change your answers.
The three subscales are reported separately. Because this page uses a five-point rather than the published seven-point response scale, it does not calculate the published total or apply its comparison values.
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Use the result
What this test adds
See compensation, masking and assimilation separately, then use the patterns to notice what different social situations ask of you.
A small next step
For a week after social events, note what you did and how long it took to feel like yourself again. Review the examples together.
Questions people ask
What will I see in the result?
Separate scores for compensation, masking and assimilation. Use them to reflect on the effort involved in social situations.
What is the difference between compensation, masking and assimilation?
Compensation is the strategies you learned and use on purpose. Masking is managing how you appear while an interaction is running. Assimilation is the sense of performing rather than being yourself. They are reported apart because they can move independently.
Are my answers stored or sent anywhere?
No. The result is calculated in this browser tab. Answers and result text are never sent as analytics properties and are never written to browser storage.
