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Methodology note

Methodology of the Social strategies test questionnaire

  • Self-observation
  • 24 items
  • 3 axes
  • 4 references

This page describes where the items come from, how the score is computed and the limits of this questionnaire. It is public and asks for no sign-up.

1Where the items come from

The items are written for Brain Quiz from the published literature in the field.

The 24 items in this questionnaire were written for Brain Quiz from the literature on so-called dark personality traits. No published scale is reproduced, in whole or in part: neither the Short Dark Triad (SD3) by Jones and Paulhus, nor the Dirty Dozen by Jonason and Webster, whose reuse conditions have not been established. The references below document the field explored, they are not the source of the items.

Sources. 24 items in total.1,2,3,4

2How the score is computed

Each answer is worth 0 to 4 points, multiplied by the weight of the question, between 1 and 3. The three axes carry the same total weight, and the overall score is rescaled to 100. It reads as an index of how present the three observed tendencies are in your answers: the higher it is, the more the answers describe seeking admiration, using relationships strategically and keeping a distance from what other people feel. Three items, one per axis, are reverse-scored. Axes are computed separately, as a percentage of the maximum reachable on their own questions. Weights and band thresholds were set by the editorial team: they come from no population calibration.

2.1The reading axes

Each item feeds a single axis. Each axis is computed as a percentage of the maximum reachable on its own items.

Table 1. The 3 reading axes and the number of items feeding each one.
Reading axisItems
Seeking admiration8
Relationships as leverage8
Emotional detachment8

2.2The reading bands

The score brought back to 100 falls into one of these bands. The bounds are set by the editorial team, and shown here.

Table 2. The reading bands of the score out of 100, and the guidance attached to each one.
BandRange out of 100Guidance
Relationships with no apparent calculation0 to 29nonea
A few strategies, on occasion30 to 54nonea
Marked social strategies55 to 74conversation suggestedb
Strategies very present in your answers75 to 100reinforced guidancec
  1. No guidance message comes with this band.
  2. The result mentions that a conversation with a professional can help.
  3. The result shows a guidance message towards a health professional.

3Limits of the result

This questionnaire describes preferences and behaviours that you report yourself, at one point in time. It does not say who you are, attaches no personality label and says nothing about your real intentions or your moral worth. A high score does not point to a personality disorder: it can neither establish nor rule out a condition, and it does not replace the opinion of a health professional.

4References

Each entry carries its authors, year, title, journal and identifier.

  1. Paulhus, D. L., & Williams, K. M. (2002). The Dark Triad of personality: Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. Journal of Research in Personality, 36(6), 556-563. doi:10.1016/S0092-6566(02)00505-6 opens in a new tab ↑
  2. Jonason, P. K., & Webster, G. D. (2010). The dirty dozen: A concise measure of the dark triad. Psychological Assessment, 22(2), 420-432. doi:10.1037/a0019265 opens in a new tab ↑
  3. Furnham, A., Richards, S. C., & Paulhus, D. L. (2013). The Dark Triad of Personality: A 10 Year Review. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 7(3), 199-216. doi:10.1111/spc3.12018 opens in a new tab ↑
  4. Jones, D. N., & Paulhus, D. L. (2014). Introducing the Short Dark Triad (SD3): A Brief Measure of Dark Personality Traits. Assessment, 21(1), 28-41. doi:10.1177/1073191113514105 opens in a new tab ↑
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