Narcissism Test

What this test measures

Narcissism, in the everyday sense psychologists use, is a personality trait that everyone has to some degree: how much you see yourself as a leader, how much you want to be noticed and admired, and how much you feel entitled to good treatment. A little of it looks like confidence and drive. A lot of it tends to look like dominating conversations, bristling at criticism and expecting others to fit around you.

This test asks sixteen times which of two statements sounds more like you. Your score is how often you chose the more self-focused one, from 0 to 16, and the profile splits it into three traits: leadership and authority, wanting to be seen and feeling owed.

How it is built

The test follows the structure of the sixteen-item short form of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, known as the NPI-16: sixteen forced choices, each between a self-focused statement and a more modest one, with the self-focused side placed first in half the pairs and second in the other half. Forced choice matters here, because almost nobody agrees with a plain statement like "I am arrogant", while many people will pick "I like having authority over others" over its opposite.

The wording of every pair is our own. The three traits in the profile are our grouping of the pairs, following a common three-part reading of the full inventory; your score is always the plain count, never an average of the three. The inventory has no clinical cut-off, so the bands on this site (low below 5, typical from 5, elevated from 9, high from 13) are conventions we use to make the number readable, not a medical threshold.

What your result contains

Your free result shows your band (low, typical, elevated or high) with a short summary, and the three traits as bars. The full report adds your exact score out of 16 and where it sits against the bands, your score on each of the three traits, what your level tends to look like at work and in relationships, practical steps that fit your profile, and a PDF to keep. The test is free; the full report is one payment, no subscription.

What it is and is not

This is a self-reflection tool about an everyday trait. It is not a clinical assessment, and no score on it means that someone has narcissistic personality disorder: that is a different question that only a qualified clinician can assess, over time and in conversation. A high score here describes how you answered sixteen choices, nothing more.

Every level has an upside. Low scorers tend to be easy to work with and generous with credit; high scorers tend to be decisive and comfortable taking the lead. The report is about using the upside and noticing where the trait costs you.

If you are trying to make sense of someone else's behaviour rather than your own, the Narcissist Recognition Test asks about patterns you observe in another person.