Although artificial intelligence is frequently lauded for its coding ability or its math skills, how does it really perform when it is examined on something inherently human, such as emotions?
A recent study from the University of Geneva and the University of Bern reports that a handful of popular AI systems (e.g. ChatGPT) may actually have superior performance than participants taking an emotional intelligence test made for humans.
Researchers wanted to explore whether machines could recognize and reason about emotions similarly to how humans do, and surprisingly, the answer was yes – and more. Across a total of five different tests of emotional understanding and regulation, an average of 81 percent of the six AI models used correctly answered emotional understanding questions, whereas the average human had a correct response rate of only 56 percent.
These findings challenge the deep-rooted assumption that empathy, judgment, or emotional awareness exists only among humans.
The researchers used the well-established assessments psychologists use to measure "ability emotional intelligence," which has a right and wrong answer, much like a math test or personality quiz. Subjects had to choose the emotion the person was likely to feel in a specific situation, or what the best option was to help someone relax.
The AI models (ChatGPT-4, ChatGPT-o1, Gemini 1.5 Flash, Copilot 365, Claude 3.5 Haiku, and DeepSeek V3) underwent testing between December 2024 and January 2025. Each system completed the tests on ten occasions so researchers could find average scores from the models, and compare with the scores of human participants from previous validation studies.
In conclusion, each AI exceeded humans in every test. The systems displayed a high degree of agreement among themselves, which indicates that they produced similar emotional judgments, even in the absence of direct training on the evaluation of emotions.
"LLMs can not only identify the best option among many available ones, but also create new scenarios that suit the desired context," says Katja Schlegel, lecturer at the University of Bern’s Institute of Psychology and lead author of the study.
Two tests, the Situational Test of Emotion Understanding (STEU) and the Geneva Emotion Knowledge Test – Blends (GEMOK-Blends), assessed the participants’ ability to recognize emotional states in different situations. Other tests, the Situational Test of Emotion Management (STEM) and subtests from the Geneva Emotional Competence Test (GECo), evaluated emotional regulation and emotional management.
Each question presented a realistic situation and asked for the best answer that demonstrated emotional intelligence. For example, if Employee A stole an idea from Employee B and then presented it to their supervisor and received praise, the appropriate answer is not to confront Employee A or seek revenge, but to subtly approach a supervisor with a calm discussion. This is an act of emotional control.
"The results showed significantly higher scores for the LLMs – 82 percent, compared to 56 percent by human participants," explained Marcello Mortillaro, a senior scientist at the Swiss Centre for Affective Sciences. "This indicates that these AIs not only comprehend emotions, but also possess an understanding of functioning with emotional intelligence."
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