Naming Your Own Emotions (TAS-20)

What the TAS-20 measures

Alexithymia is a sub-clinical trait involving a severe deficit in emotional processing. When someone with high alexithymia feels sad or anxious, they do not cognitively register "I am sad." Instead, they only register the physical somatic symptoms (e.g., "My chest hurts," "I am tired"). They often confuse emotional distress with physical illness, leading to chronic psychosomatic complaints. It is highly correlated with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), severe PTSD, and psychosomatic disorders.

The dimensions it assesses

• Difficulty Identifying Feelings (DIF): The inability to distinguish between different emotions, or between emotional arousal and physical sensations (e.g., confusing anxiety with indigestion).
• Difficulty Describing Feelings (DDF): The inability to find the words to communicate internal emotional states to other people.
• Externally-Oriented Thinking (EOT): A highly pragmatic, concrete, and literal cognitive style that completely avoids introspection, fantasy, or emotional reflection.

What to do with your result

1. The Autism (ASD) Overlap: Over 50% of adults on the Autism Spectrum score > 61 on the TAS-20. If a user triggers this threshold, the system should gently recommend the AQ-10 (Autism Quotient) to determine if the emotional blindness is part of a broader neurodevelopmental profile.
2. Failure of Talk Therapy: Standard psychoanalysis ("How does that make you feel?") fails completely with Alexithymic patients, because they literally do not know. Therapy must start with a "Feelings Wheel" and somatic body mapping (e.g., "When you say your throat feels tight, point to where it is. That physical tightness is what we call anxiety").
3. The Empathy Misconception: High scorers often appear cold or psychopathic, but they are not. Psychopaths know what feelings are, they just don't care. Alexithymics often care deeply, but are entirely blind to the emotional data required to process the situation.

Common questions about the TAS-20

What does the TAS-20 measure?

Measurement of Alexithymia ("No words for emotions"): the inability to identify, process, and describe emotions in the self.

Can the TAS-20 diagnose me?

No. Naming Your Own Emotions (TAS-20) is a screening questionnaire, not a diagnostic tool. It can flag that something may need a closer look. It cannot tell you what is causing it. It describes tendencies rather than diagnosing anything, and no result here is a condition or something to fix.

Is this TAS-20 test really free?

Yes. No account, no email address, no payment. Psychometrics Today is funded by donations rather than advertising, which is also what allows us to publish instruments whose authors permit free but non-commercial use.

Are my answers stored or shared?

No. Your answers are scored inside your browser and never sent to us. There is no database of responses, because we never receive any. Closing the tab erases them, which is why results cannot be recovered afterwards.

How often should I retake the TAS-20?

Traits and preferences move slowly, so retaking this every few months is more informative than retaking it often. Larger shifts usually follow a genuine change in circumstances.

How accurate is the TAS-20?

Screening questionnaires are good at flagging that something merits attention and poor at establishing what it is. This one is sensitive to how you feel on the day you take it, and many instruments were validated on narrow populations whose cut-offs may not transfer cleanly to everyone. The references at the foot of this page are the primary sources.

Why can I not take the TAS-20 here?

The TAS-20 is copyrighted and its authors require permission for use. We will not reproduce a questionnaire we have no right to reproduce, so this page explains what it measures instead. The Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire is freely available for research use; or publish an explainer only.