Values Test: discover what truly drives you

In short

A values test measures what truly drives you. Innerscape uses the Schwartz Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ-40, 40 items, about 6 minutes), free and with no account: you see your scores and percentiles immediately on the 10 universal core values found across every culture. Values are personal motivations — what matters to you — and are distinct from social norms, which are what others expect. They are not fixed: your value profile shifts over a lifetime.

What do you get?

The free test above shows you your score and percentile on each of the 10 core values right away — exactly like the example below.

Example result

The score is the average on the scale; the percentile (P) shows how this fictional result compares to the population — P70 means higher than 70% of people.

The interpretation of this profile — how your values relate to each other and where they create tension —, the seven other questionnaires and your personal report need an account. Your answers come along: the values test will already be done.

Want to go further? The full assessment covers 365 questions across 8 questionnaires and takes about 45 minutes. You start with the free values test above; the rest follows once you create an account.

What are personal values?

Values are the abstract goals that give your life direction. Shalom Schwartz developed a theory in 1992 that identifies ten universal value dimensions — dimensions found across every culture, from Japan to Brazil. Your value profile explains why you make certain decisions effortlessly while endlessly postponing others.

Values are not static. They shift through life experiences, changing circumstances, and personal growth. But at any given moment they form an internal compass that determines where your energy flows — or stalls. Knowing your value profile makes conscious choices possible where you would otherwise operate on autopilot.

Want to put words to what matters to you first? Check out the core values list with a selection exercise.

The difference between values and norms

Values and norms are often mentioned in the same breath, but they are different things. Your personal values are inner motivations: what you fundamentally care about, such as self-direction, achievement, or security. Norms are the social rules around them — what the people around you consider appropriate or 'normal.' Values come from within; norms are imposed from the outside.

The distinction matters because friction tends to arise where your values clash with the prevailing norms of your environment. Someone who scores high on Self-direction but works under rigid rules (a strong Conformity norm) feels that tension daily. Knowing what your values are makes visible where you adapt to norms that are not your own — and where that drains your energy.

What are Schwartz's 10 core values?

What is the PVQ-40 method?

Innerscape uses the Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ-40), developed by Schwartz in 2003. Unlike traditional questionnaires that ask how important something is to you, the PVQ presents short descriptions of people. For each description you indicate how much that person resembles you.

This indirect method reduces socially desirable responding. You compare yourself to someone else rather than judging yourself directly — which produces more honest results.

The 40 descriptions cover all ten value dimensions. There are no right or wrong answers. Your profile does not show which values are "better," but which ones are strongest in you — and which ones operate in the background.

How do values fit into the rest of your profile?

What is the Schwartz circumplex?

The ten values do not stand alone — they are arranged in a circle, the so-called circumplex. Values next to each other are compatible and reinforce one another. Values opposite each other are in tension. So Self-direction (charting your own course) clashes with Conformity (following rules), and Stimulation (seeking excitement) stands opposite Security (safeguarding stability). Universalism (the greater good) is in tension with Power (self-interest), and Benevolence (care for others) contrasts with Achievement (personal success).

At a higher level, four groups emerge. Openness to change (Self-direction and Stimulation) stands opposite Conservation (Conformity, Tradition and Security). Self-transcendence (Universalism and Benevolence) stands opposite Self-enhancement (Power and Achievement). These four quadrants form the tension field within which your value profile moves.

The circular structure means you cannot maximize everything. Someone who values Self-direction highly will almost always rank Conformity lower — and vice versa. This is not a flaw in the model or a shortcoming in you. It is a fundamental feature of human motivation: setting priorities inevitably means letting go of something else.

Want to dig into the theory yourself — the origins of the model, the value circle as a diagram, the measurement instruments and the refinement into nineteen values — read the Schwartz theory of values.

How do your values shape your career choice?

Most people are a mix — and that mix is exactly what makes your career path unique.

Why do your values sometimes clash?

It is normal for your values to clash with each other — the Schwartz circle places opposing values literally opposite each other, so the tension sits in the model, not in you. Want to see what that looks like in practice, with concrete work and home situations per clash and a reflection worksheet to break down your own conflict? Read values conflict: recognise clashing values at work and at home.

Sources

Frequently asked questions