Character Strengths Test: Find Your Leading Virtue Across 24 Character Strengths
This test is informed by Peterson and Seligman's classification of 24 character strengths grouped under six virtues. See your leading virtue, all six scored side by side, and a plain-language guide to spotting your top individual strengths within it.
Reviewed by Michael Callans, MSW 
Character Strengths Test is a free, confidential 48-question self-assessment, informed by Peterson & Seligman (2004) · Not the VIA. It takes about 6 minutes, runs entirely in your browser, and gives you a plain-language profile of your strongest style plus an optional in-depth report. It is an educational screening, not a diagnosis.
24 character strengths, grouped into six virtues
This test scores your agreement with 48 original statements, 8 per virtue, covering all 24 character strengths in Peterson and Seligman's classification. Your results page shows all six virtues, with the strongest one explained in depth.
Six virtues, all scored
Wisdom and Knowledge, Courage, Humanity, Justice, Temperance, and Transcendence, each measured with 8 original items, so you see your full profile across all six rather than a single label.
24 character strengths named
Each virtue groups several individual strengths, from Creativity and Curiosity to Kindness, Leadership, and Gratitude. Your results explain how to spot which specific strengths within your leading virtue stood out most for you.
Honest about what it isn't
This is an original, independent test informed by the published classification, not the VIA Survey of Character Strengths or CliftonStrengths (formerly StrengthsFinder), which are separate, proprietary instruments we do not reproduce.
| Feature | Typical free quiz | Psychology.com |
|---|---|---|
| All six virtues scored | Some quizzes cover only a few strengths | Yes, all six virtues and all 24 strengths named |
| Relationship to VIA and CliftonStrengths | May imply equivalence to a proprietary tool | Independent test, clearly not the VIA or CliftonStrengths |
| Original items, no copied content | Source often unclear | 48 original items, none copied from any proprietary survey |
| Teaches you to spot your top strengths | Rarely explained | Plain-language guide to reading your pattern within each virtue |
| Clinician-reviewed language | Rarely | Yes, reviewed |
| Answers stay on your device | Often tracked | Scored in your browser; we only receive anonymous completion counts unless you ask for a PDF or report |
The 6 patterns this test measures
- Wisdom and Knowledge: Groups the strengths of Creativity, Curiosity, Judgment, Love of Learning, and Perspective.
- Courage: Groups the strengths of Bravery, Perseverance, Honesty, and Zest.
- Humanity: Groups the strengths of Love, Kindness, and Social Intelligence.
- Justice: Groups the strengths of Teamwork, Fairness, and Leadership.
- Temperance: Groups the strengths of Forgiveness, Humility, Prudence, and Self-Regulation.
- Transcendence: Groups the strengths of Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence, Gratitude, Hope, Humor, and Spirituality.
If nothing is endorsed, every pattern scores the same, or the leading patterns tie, the result says so instead of naming a single pattern.
Character Strengths vs the VIA Survey vs CliftonStrengths
These three things are related but distinct. Peterson and Seligman's 2004 classification is the underlying academic framework: 24 character strengths grouped under six virtues, developed by dozens of researchers as a positive-psychology counterpart to clinical diagnostic systems. The VIA Survey of Character Strengths is the specific, proprietary questionnaire the VIA Institute on Character built directly on that framework, widely used in research and coaching. CliftonStrengths, formerly StrengthsFinder, is a separate Gallup product built on a different framework entirely, 34 workplace-oriented talent themes rather than character strengths and virtues.
This test is our own, independent instrument, informed by the public classification but not built on, affiliated with, or equivalent to either commercial survey. If you have already taken the official VIA Survey or CliftonStrengths, treat this as a different, complementary lens rather than a like-for-like comparison; the frameworks group and label things differently enough that a direct score comparison wouldn't be meaningful.
How to Use Your Result
The most useful way to use a character strengths result is to pick one specific strength and use it somewhere new this week, not just admire the label. Niemiec's (2018) review of strengths-based interventions found that deliberately applying a strength in a fresh context is linked to real gains in wellbeing, more so than simply knowing you have it. If Kindness scored high for you, look for one new place to apply it outside your usual habits; if Prudence scored high, notice a decision this week where slowing down genuinely helped.
If you're thinking about how your strengths connect to bigger life or career decisions, our Career Test (/tests/career) and Big Five personality test (/tests/big-five) look at complementary questions using different, well-established frameworks.
What This Test Does Not Do
This test cannot diagnose a personality disorder, rank your moral worth, or replace a validated instrument like the VIA Survey for research or coaching purposes that specifically require it. It also cannot capture strengths this classification doesn't cover, or account for how strongly a given culture or context shapes which strengths get expressed and rewarded.
If a pattern in your results connects to something you want real support with, whether that's building courage to make a hard change or working through a strained relationship, our Grit Test (/tests/grit) looks at persistence specifically, and the Psychology.com therapist directory can connect you with a licensed professional.
Methodology & sources
Peterson and Seligman's Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification (2004) organized 24 widely valued character strengths under six broader virtues: Wisdom and Knowledge, Courage, Humanity, Justice, Temperance, and Transcendence. The project, involving dozens of researchers, was intended as a positive-psychology counterpart to clinical diagnostic manuals, cataloguing strengths rather than disorders. Our 48 original items, 8 per virtue, ask about everyday behaviors and feelings connected to the strengths within each virtue, in a standard agreement format. The engine scores each virtue as an independent dimension and shows all six together, with your highest-scoring virtue explained in the most depth.
This test is not the VIA Survey of Character Strengths, developed and published by the VIA Institute on Character, nor is it CliftonStrengths, Gallup's proprietary assessment formerly known as StrengthsFinder. We name both instruments here only so readers understand what this page is and isn't: an independent, original questionnaire informed by the public classification framework Peterson and Seligman published, not a reproduction of either commercial survey's items, scoring, or reports. Because the engine scores six virtues rather than 24 individual strengths, we cannot rank your precise strength-by-strength order the way a longer, purpose-built instrument can; instead, your results explain how to read your own answer pattern within your leading virtue to identify which specific strengths inside it are likely strongest for you.
References
- Peterson C, Seligman MEP. Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification. New York: Oxford University Press and Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 2004.
- Park N, Peterson C, Seligman MEP. Strengths of character and well-being. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology. 2004;23(5):603-619. doi.org/10.1521/jscp.23.5.603.50748
- Niemiec RM. Character Strengths Interventions: A Field Guide for Practitioners. Boston: Hogrefe Publishing; 2018.
- VIA Institute on Character. The VIA Classification of Character Strengths. viacharacter.org/character-strengths
Cite this source
Psychology.com. (2026, September 23). Character Strengths Test. Psychology.com. https://psychology.com/tests/character-strengths
Character Strengths Test FAQ
Is this the VIA Survey of Character Strengths?
No. The VIA Survey is a separate, proprietary questionnaire developed and published by the VIA Institute on Character, built directly on Peterson and Seligman's classification. This page is an independent, original test informed by the same published classification framework, with its own items and scoring. It does not reproduce the VIA Survey's questions or reports, and it should not be treated as equivalent to taking the VIA.
Is this the same as CliftonStrengths or StrengthsFinder?
No. CliftonStrengths, Gallup's proprietary assessment formerly called StrengthsFinder, uses a different framework of 34 workplace-oriented talent themes, not the 24 character strengths from Peterson and Seligman's classification. This test is unrelated to and does not reproduce CliftonStrengths in any way.
Why do I only see one virtue explained in depth, not all 24 strengths ranked?
This test scores six virtues, each built from 8 items covering several individual strengths, rather than scoring all 24 strengths independently. That design keeps the quiz to a reasonable length. Your leading virtue's interpretation explains how to look back at your own answers and spot which specific strengths within it likely stood out most for you, which is a genuine, useful signal even without a full 24-way breakdown.
What if my top two virtues are close?
That's common and meaningful. Read both virtue interpretations rather than focusing only on the highest one; many people draw on two or three virtues about equally depending on the situation, and a close second virtue often explains real patterns in your behavior that the top one alone doesn't capture.
Can my character strengths change over time?
Yes. Unlike some personality traits, character strengths respond well to deliberate practice; research summarized by Niemiec (2018) suggests that intentionally using a strength in a new way is linked to higher wellbeing over time. Treat this result as a current snapshot and a starting point for practice, not a permanent ceiling.
Is having more of one virtue better than another?
No. All six virtues and 24 strengths are considered valuable in the original classification; the point of the framework was to catalogue widely valued strengths, not to rank them against each other. A person strong in Temperance is not "better" than one strong in Zest; they simply tend to show up differently day to day, and most people draw on a mix of several virtues depending on the situation.
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