A core values quiz for finding what really drives you

This core values quiz shows which of ten values seem to matter most to you, from security and tradition to adventure and creativity. It takes about six minutes, is free to take and needs no sign-up. You get a score on each value, so you can see not just what you care about, but what tends to come first.

Please note that Core Values uses Selfcarta's own questions, which are not yet independently validated. It is a tool for reflection, and it can't tell you who you should be.

What the quiz measures

The quiz covers ten values. There are no good or bad ones here, and most people care about all of them to some degree. What differs is the order.

• Achievement: doing well and reaching what you set out to do.
• Security: feeling safe and stable, for yourself and the people you love.
• Adventure: seeking out new experiences and a bit of risk.
• Connection: feeling close to other people and part of something.
• Independence: making your own choices and going your own way.
• Fairness: wanting people to be treated justly.
• Tradition: keeping up customs and honouring where you came from.
• Creativity: making new things and thinking in new ways.
• Influence: having a say and shaping what happens.
• Care: looking after the people around you.

The science behind it

The best-known research in this area comes from Shalom Schwartz. His 1992 paper, with tests in 20 countries, set out a theory of the content and structure of values. His 2012 overview describes ten basic personal values recognised across cultures, arranged in a circular structure that captures which values fit together and which pull against each other.

That idea of pull is what makes values interesting. You may value both adventure and security, and on most days that causes no trouble. Then a job offer comes up in another country, and you learn something about yourself.

Selfcarta's list is informed by this general field, but it is not the Schwartz model, and it does not use his questionnaires. We chose ten values that are easy to recognise in everyday life, then wrote our own questions. Those questions have not been independently validated, and we don't publish accuracy figures for this quiz.

Values are not the same as personality

It's easy to mix these up. Personality describes how you tend to act. Values describe what you think matters. Laura Parks-Leduc, Gilad Feldman and Anat Bardi analysed 60 studies and found that the links between the two were consistent and made sense, but were generally not large, which suggests they are distinct.

So you can recharge alone and still value connection deeply. Our article on your values vs your personality explains how to use that gap. If you would like to see the personality side too, the Core Personality Expedition maps your Big Five traits.

What you can do with your result

Your scores are most useful when you have a decision to make.

• Look at your top three. Does your calendar for last week reflect them?
• Think about a recent choice that felt hard. Which two values were pulling against each other?
• Share your results with someone close to you, and ask which ones surprise them

Values can also help explain friction. If you lean towards fairness and a colleague leans towards achievement, you may be having a values disagreement while you think you are arguing about a process. Our guide to personality insights in a relationship offers some ideas for talking about differences like these.

Do others see what you value?

What you say matters to you and what others see you doing can differ, and that gap is worth knowing about. With Second Sight, people who know you can answer a 10-item version of the Core Values Expedition about you. Friends, family and co-workers stay anonymous, and they are shown only as averages with at least two others. The Partner circle is a named, one-to-one comparison, and your partner is told that before they start.