Perfectionism Test: Are You a Perfectionist?
This free perfectionism test is short and private. Statements about how you work and how you treat your own mistakes give you two scores: how high you set the bar, and how much you worry about falling short. It is a starting point, not a diagnosis, and you can retake it to see your own change.
Take the perfectionism test
12 statements. Free, no sign-up, and your answers stay private.
Wanting to do well is healthy. Perfectionism is when doing well turns into doing it flawlessly, and a mistake starts to feel like a verdict on you. Researchers often split it into two parts. One is how high you set the bar. The other is how much you worry, and how hard you are on yourself, when you fall short.
The two do not always go together. You can aim high and shrug off slips, or aim low and still lie awake over one. Answer for how things have been lately, go with your first reaction, and know that nothing here is compared with anyone else.
If yours comes with repeated checking, rituals or controlling food, speak to a GP.
What it measures
- High personal standards. A higher score means you tend to set demanding goals and push yourself to keep improving. A lower score means you tend to hold standards loosely and accept good enough.
- Worry about mistakes. A higher score means you tend to replay mistakes, judge yourself harshly and fear what others will think. A lower score means you tend to let mistakes pass and stay fairly kind to yourself.
What the results mean
Relaxed about standards
Both of your scores lean lower. You tend to hold standards loosely and let mistakes pass.
If something matters a great deal to you, you may still want to set the bar higher there, and that is fine.
High standards, gentle on yourself
Your standards score leans higher and your worry score leans lower. You aim high without being thrown by slips.
Research links both high standards and worry about mistakes with distress, and Stoeber and Otto's review found worry linked more strongly than high standards. Your standards are still worth watching, especially if they reach food, exercise or checking, or leave little time to rest.
Worried about mistakes
Your worry score leans higher and your standards score leans lower. You may not be aiming for perfection, but slips weigh on you anyway.
Worry like this is tiring, and it is not a flaw in you. Working on the harsh voice may help as much as working on the standards.
High standards and harsh self-judgement
Both of your scores lean higher. You set the bar high and are hard on yourself when you miss it. This is the pattern the word perfectionism usually describes, and it can leave you tired and never quite finished.
It is a pattern, not a fixed part of who you are. Small experiments, such as finishing something at good enough on purpose, tend to loosen it.
Questions
Is this perfectionism test a diagnosis?
No. It is a short self-reflection tool that gives a starting point. Perfectionism is not a diagnosis on its own, though it can go along with anxiety, low mood and other difficulties, so talk to a GP or doctor if it is weighing on you.
Why two scores instead of one?
Researchers often separate how high you set the bar from how much you worry about mistakes. They can come apart. Research links both with distress, and worry about mistakes more strongly than high standards, so two scores show which one is doing the work.
Is wanting high standards a problem?
Not by itself. Wanting to do well is healthy. It becomes a problem when a mistake feels like a verdict on you, or when the bar leaves no room to rest or finish.
Who can see my answers?
Your answers are saved in your own browser. If you have a free account, they also sync to it so you can see them on other devices. They are not shown to anyone else and are not compared with other people's.
Sources
Researchers describe perfectionism as more than one thing. The split used here, between high personal standards and worry about mistakes, follows Stoeber and Otto, who call them perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns. The statements here were written for this site, and this is not a clinical test.
- Hewitt, P. L., & Flett, G. L. (1991). Perfectionism in the self and social contexts: Conceptualization, assessment, and association with psychopathology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(3), 456-470.
- Stoeber, J., & Otto, K. (2006). Positive conceptions of perfectionism: Approaches, evidence, challenges. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10(4), 295-319.
- Limburg, K., Watson, H. J., Hagger, M. S., & Egan, S. J. (2017). The relationship between perfectionism and psychopathology: A meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 73(10), 1301-1326.
This isn't therapy, and a result here is a starting point, not a diagnosis.