What Are My Values Quiz: Uncover Your Core Character Strengths
Why Your Values Matter More Than You Think
Values serve as your internal compass, guiding every choice from career decisions to relationship dynamics. When you're clear about what truly matters to you, life becomes less overwhelming and more purposeful. Research published in the National Institutes of Health demonstrates that satisfaction with domains consistent with one's values is more essential for overall life satisfaction and well-being.
Yet most people operate without this crucial self-knowledge. They make decisions based on external expectations, social pressures, or outdated beliefs inherited from childhood. This disconnect between actions and authentic values creates internal conflict, stress, and a persistent sense that something is missing.
The Science Behind Character Strengths
Our assessment is grounded in decades of positive psychology research. The VIA (Values in Action) Character Strengths framework, developed by leading researchers, identifies 24 universal character strengths that contribute to human flourishing and well-being.
How Our Values Assessment Works
This isn't another superficial personality quiz. Our comprehensive evaluation uses validated psychological principles to identify your top character strengths—the values that energize you, feel authentic, and represent your best self.
Assessment Details:
- Duration: 10-15 minutes of focused reflection
- Questions: 96 carefully crafted scenarios and statements
- Output: Ranked list of your 24 character strengths
- Format: Detailed report with practical applications
- Scientific Basis: Based on research from the University of Pennsylvania's VIA Institute
The assessment examines how you naturally respond to various situations, revealing patterns that indicate your strongest values. Unlike other tools that box you into categories, this evaluation recognizes the unique combination of strengths that makes you who you are.
Transform Your Life Through Value Clarity
Enhanced Decision-Making
Stop second-guessing yourself. When you know your values, choices become clearer and more confident. You'll naturally gravitate toward opportunities that align with who you are.
Authentic Relationships
Understanding your values helps you communicate your needs and boundaries effectively. You'll attract people who appreciate your authentic self.
Career Alignment
Discover work that energizes rather than drains you. Many professionals find new direction after understanding their core character strengths.
Reduced Internal Conflict
End the exhausting cycle of people-pleasing and living up to others' expectations. Align your actions with your authentic values.
Increased Resilience
During challenging times, your values become anchors. Research shows that value-aligned individuals recover faster from setbacks.
Personal Growth Direction
Identify specific areas for development based on your natural strengths rather than trying to fix perceived weaknesses.
What Others Discover About Their Values
Understanding the 24 Character Strengths
The assessment evaluates six core virtue categories, each containing specific character strengths. According to research from the VIA Institute on Character, these strengths are universal across cultures and contribute to individual and community well-being.
The Six Virtue Categories:
- Wisdom and Knowledge: Cognitive strengths like creativity, curiosity, and love of learning
- Courage: Emotional strengths including bravery, perseverance, and authenticity
- Humanity: Interpersonal strengths such as kindness, love, and social intelligence
- Justice: Civic strengths like fairness, leadership, and teamwork
- Temperance: Strengths that protect against excess, including self-regulation and prudence
- Transcendence: Strengths that connect you to the larger universe, like gratitude and hope
Your unique combination of these strengths creates your values profile. While everyone possesses all 24 strengths to some degree, your top five typically represent your "signature strengths"—the values that feel most authentic and energizing when expressed.
For those seeking deeper self-understanding, consider exploring our comprehensive personal questionnaire that examines additional aspects of personality and behavior patterns.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely. The VIA Character Strengths framework has been validated through peer-reviewed research and used in numerous academic studies. It's considered one of the most robust tools for measuring positive personality traits.
The assessment has high reliability and validity scores. However, like any psychological tool, it's most effective when you answer honestly and in a typical state of mind. Your results may evolve over time as you grow and change.
While core character strengths tend to be relatively stable, their ranking and expression can shift based on life experiences, personal growth, and changing circumstances. Many people retake the assessment periodically to track their development.
Remember that all character strengths are positive qualities. If certain results surprise you, it might indicate untapped potential or strengths you haven't fully embraced. The goal is self-awareness, not judgment.
Your results come with specific suggestions for applying each strength in daily life, work, and relationships. Many people use their top strengths to guide career decisions, improve relationships, and set personal development goals.
Beyond Individual Growth: Values in Context
Understanding your values doesn't happen in isolation. Our behavior and value expression are significantly influenced by social contexts and relationships. Research in emotional regulation shows how social influences shape our emotional patterns, which directly impacts how we express our core values.
Additionally, knowing your character strengths can be particularly powerful for career development. When your work aligns with your values, job satisfaction increases dramatically. Studies show that personality assessments can significantly enhance career growth by helping individuals make more strategic choices about roles, companies, and professional development.
For a complete picture of your personality and values, many users explore multiple assessment tools. You can discover various options on our main assessment hub, which offers scientifically-backed tools for different aspects of self-discovery.
Your Next Steps Toward Authentic Living
Self-knowledge is the first step, but application creates transformation. Once you understand your core values through this assessment, you'll have a roadmap for making decisions that align with your authentic self.
Consider how you might integrate your top character strengths into different areas of your life:
- Choose projects at work that utilize your strongest values
- Seek relationships with people who appreciate and support your authentic expression
- Make lifestyle choices that honor what matters most to you
- Set goals that leverage your natural strengths rather than fighting against them
- Practice self-compassion by recognizing that your values are inherently positive
The journey of self-discovery never truly ends, but understanding your values provides a stable foundation for growth, change, and authentic living. Every moment you align your actions with your core character strengths, you move closer to the person you're meant to be.
Share your results with friends and family to spark meaningful conversations about what truly matters. Understanding each other's values can deepen relationships and create more authentic connections.