How did you get that?
The point I was making was simply that these types of tests have unreliable results. Really, any test administered by yourself, for yourself, about yourself, using your own opinion of yourself, is going to run the gamut from 'unreliable' to 'utterly useless,' depending on the particular subject matter and the people.
But to use the cliched 'very/slightly/slightly/very' format makes it even worse. I wasn't saying that intelligence literally skews empathy; just the test results. I was saying that when you ask reasonable questions of reasonable people, you will get mostly answers in the middle ground, which make for shitty results. The definitive results will come from those who are incapable of processing the finer points of a question, and automatically choose one of the severe answers, even though it cannot possible be the truth.
I would wager that someone scoring a 60 or 70 plus on this test also probably does terrible on standardized tests due to a lack of critical thinking skills.
Most people here probably got in the 20-40 range due to 'middle ground' answers coupled with maybe a slight skew towards schizoid tendencies. I myself know damn well that I'm not autistic; I do, however, have quite a bit of the schizoid in me, which is reflected in a lot of my answers...and has nothing to do with empathy.
I'll say that I have seen first hand how the "less intelligent" or more appropriately "less aware" can and do answer within the full ranges, not flying upon absolutes.
And you should be able to readily recognize and acknowledge when you have a reason to have an absolute response. I had a few, not necessarily many but a statistically significant amount.
Also regarding testing and statistics, I feel quite certain that the format is so commonly used because it has been demonstrated to be valuable. There are studies regularly conducted that resemble these kinds of tests, but the sole point is to determine how people approach the answers, especially if tests can lead anyone to answer in ways they wouldn't otherwise if they could help it.
If you ever took one of those personality tests attached to a job application, you might recognize how half of the questions are basically reworded versions of other ones with a flipped response style (disagree vs agree).
They use it because it works. Full stop. Fact. End of story.
FYI: I legitimately studied in the Behavioral Studies category and read about and witnessed and even participated in studies of various styles.
I hate to say it and forgive me if this offends, but if your posting style isn't manufactured, you definitely fit the kind of category that test is designed to highlight. That is not to say it's an autistic disorder, but it would seem you may be lacking in empathy traits.
If you created a persona and you are nothing like that, you are a fiendish SOB and might consider taking up the creative arts, notably writing or acting if you are not already capitalizing on that skill.