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Dominance/Submission Test
Domineering and submissive personality patterns are no longer recognized as personality disorders, yet such traits are still discussed by psychologists and may come up as a theme in psychotherapy.
This test is one of the first to combine the measurements of dominance and submission into a single test, delivering composite results.
Do you tend toward the dominant or submissive side of things? For each of the following questions, indicate how well it describes you below.
Question 1 of 30
I tend to take it out on others when I’ve had a bad day.
| Disagree | Agree |
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The IDRlabs Dominance/Submission Test was developed by IDRlabs based on the academic references and projects detailed below. IDRlabs is not affiliated with any of these researchers or their institutions.
The Dominance/Submission Test was compiled on the basis of the following sources: Plouffe, R. A., Smith, M. M., & Saklofske, D. H. (2019). A psychometric investigation of the Assessment of Sadistic Personality. Personality and Individual Differences, 140, 57–60. O'Meara, A., Davies, J., & Hammond, S. (2011). Short Sadistic Impulse Scale [Database record]. Retrieved from PsycTESTS. Atkinson, B. (2017). The SELF-DISS: A comprehensive measure of self-defeating interpersonal style. Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 4896. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/4896. McCutcheon, L.E. (1995). Further validation of the self-defeating personality scale. Psychology Reports, 76 (3), 1135-1138.
Dominance components measure assertive traits such as aggression, hostility, and dominance. Submission components measure aggrieved traits such as diffidence, self-abasement, and unworthiness. Together they provide a combined picture of the respondent’s sadistic and masochistic traits. This quiz also allows you to compare your scores with the population average, as well as to see whether you tend more toward Sadism or Masochism.
As the publishers of this free Dominance/Submission Test, which allows you to determine the extent of your assertive and aggrieved traits, we have strived to make the quiz as reliable and valid as possible by subjecting it to statistical controls and validation. However, free online quizzes such as the present personality test do not provide professional assessments or recommendations of any kind; the test is provided entirely “as-is.” For more information about any of our online tests and quizzes, please consult our Terms of Service.
Why Use This Test?
1. High validity and reliability. There is good scientific evidence that the Dominance and Submission items used are solid psychometric constructs that hold up when analyzed statistically, and they should be considered among the mainstays of scientific personality testing.
2. Free. This Dominance/Submission test is delivered to you free of charge and is accessible, without the need for registration or sign-ups.
3. Benchmarked to population averages. This Sadism/Masochism Test makes use of large-sample population averages as obtained from scientific papers and in-house testing.
4. Statistical controls. Test scores are logged into an anonymized database. Statistical analysis of the test is conducted to ensure maximum accuracy and validity of the test scores.
5. Made by professionals. The authors of this Dominance/Submission Test are certified in the use of numerous personality assessments and have worked professionally with personality testing.