Start with your own priorities
No account, email or payment is required to begin the 24-item values profile.
Free Core Values Test
Core Values Test
Compare six broad value themes to see which priorities pull hardest when real choices compete. The 24-item profile is designed for reflection, not to tell you which values you should have.
What this doesFocused self-checkTimeAbout 5-7 minutesPrivacyNo signupResultBasic result is free
24 itemsAbout 5-7 minutesNo signupBasic result is free
Important: This is a structured reflection tool, not a clinical test or moral scorecard. High scores are not “better,” and your strongest theme is not an instruction about what decision you must make.
Compare six themes
Your result shows autonomy, achievement, connection, security, growth and contribution side by side.
Focus on trade-offs
The page helps you interpret competing priorities instead of treating one top score as the “right” answer.
Before You Begin
Four quick steps for a more useful core values profile
- Answer for the life you want to build. Think about what genuinely matters to you, not only what family, work, culture or social media says should matter.
- Separate values from current circumstances. A priority can matter deeply even when your present situation makes it difficult to act on.
- Do not maximize every theme. Values can compete. Choosing between independence and security, or achievement and connection, is often part of real decision-making.
- Use the result as a conversation starter. The profile can help name priorities, but it should not make major life decisions for you.
24 itemsAbout 5-7 minutesFree result · No signup · No credit card
What It Measures
What this free core values test explores
This development profile organizes personal priorities into six broad themes. The themes are a practical reflection framework, not a claim that all human values fit into six categories.
Autonomy
Independence, personal choice, self-direction and room to make decisions in your own way.
Achievement
Accomplishment, mastery, progress, competence and reaching meaningful goals.
Connection
Belonging, closeness, supportive relationships and feeling connected to other people.
Security
Stability, predictability, safety and having enough structure to feel grounded.
Growth
Learning, development, curiosity, challenge and becoming more capable over time.
Contribution
Helping, service, usefulness and having a positive effect beyond your own immediate needs.
Direct Answer
How is the free result calculated?
Each item contributes to one of six value themes. The result converts each theme’s raw total into a 0-100 position within this questionnaire’s possible range. The numbers are best used to compare your own pattern across themes, not to rank you against other people.
1. Theme-based ratings
Each statement asks about a priority linked to one of six broad value themes.
2. Within-profile comparison
The six scores are most useful when compared with one another to see which priorities feel stronger, weaker or closely balanced.
3. No moral ranking
A high or low value score is not good or bad. The purpose is to make trade-offs and priorities easier to name.
Transparency: This is an original DesperateMinds educational values profile. It is construct-guided but is not presented as a validated clinical instrument or a complete taxonomy of human values. It should support reflection, not prescribe decisions.
Accuracy and Limitations
How accurate is a core values test?
It can organize the priorities you report today, but no short online questionnaire can fully capture the values behind every real-life choice.
Values can be expressed differently across work, family, relationships, money, health and major life transitions. People also face constraints that prevent them from acting on what matters most. A useful result is one that helps you name a tension or priority you can recognize in real decisions, not one that gives you a permanent identity label.
Read the Result Carefully
How to interpret your free profile
Use the numbers to identify patterns worth thinking about, then compare them with real situations before drawing a broader conclusion.
Look for your strongest cluster
Two or three themes may matter similarly. That cluster can be more useful than forcing a single “top value.”
Notice close scores
Closely matched values often explain why a decision feels difficult. Both priorities may be legitimate.
Find recurring conflicts
Ask where autonomy competes with security, achievement with connection, or growth with stability in your real life.
Translate values into behavior
Choose one small action that would make an important value more visible in your week.
Choose the Right Tool
Core values profile vs personality or clinical assessment
Online self-reflection and formal assessment can both be useful, but they answer different questions and support different kinds of decisions.
| Feature | DesperateMinds free profile | Professional or standardized assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Clarify priorities and decision trade-offs | Describe traits, symptoms or functioning for a different defined purpose |
| What is rated | Importance of broad life priorities | Traits, behaviors, symptoms or abilities depending on the assessment |
| Result | Six questionnaire-range value-theme scores | Interpretation depends on the instrument and construct |
| Best use | Reflection, planning and conversation | Varies from self-understanding to formal professional assessment |
| High-stakes use | Not appropriate by itself | Only when the exact method is designed and supported for that use |
Better Response Conditions
How to get a more useful first-attempt result
- Answer from your own priorities rather than what you think looks admirable.
- Think across several areas of life, not only work or one relationship.
- Notice where circumstances prevent you from living a value before deciding the value is unimportant.
- Do not force a single winner when two priorities genuinely matter at the same time.
- Use the result to generate a question or action, not a rule you must obey.
Privacy, Access and Methodology
Know what happens before you start
The free assessment can be started without creating an account. Browser storage may be used to carry assessment state and results between pages. Review the site policies for full data-use details.
No account required
You can complete the free profile without creating an account or entering an email address.
Original reflection framework
The assessment uses original DesperateMinds items organized around six broad value themes.
No prescriptive claims
The page does not claim that your highest value should determine a career, relationship or other major decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions about this free assessment
Is the Core Values Test free?
Yes. The complete 24-item profile and basic six-theme result are available without an account, email address or payment.
What does this core values test measure?
It compares six broad value themes: autonomy, achievement, connection, security, growth and contribution.
Is my highest score my most important value?
It may be one of your stronger priorities in this questionnaire, but closely matched scores and real-life context matter. The profile is not designed to force one permanent “top value.”
Are high scores better than low scores?
No. The scores describe relative importance within the questionnaire. They are not marks of moral worth or personal quality.
Can my core values change?
Yes. Priorities can change with experience, life stage, responsibility and circumstances. Some values may remain important while the way you express them changes.
Can this test tell me which career I should choose?
No. Values can be useful inputs into a career decision, but skills, opportunities, constraints, interests and practical needs also matter.
Why do some values conflict with each other?
Real decisions often involve legitimate competing priorities, such as autonomy versus security or achievement versus connection. A conflict does not mean one value is wrong.
Can I retake the test?
Yes. Use a later result to reflect on broad changes in priorities, but do not overinterpret small numeric differences.
Keep Exploring
Related guides and assessments
Personality & RelationshipsExplore the wider self-understanding section.Motivation ProfileCompare what matters to you with the patterns that tend to energize action.Decision Style ProfileExplore how you tend to approach choices when priorities compete.Personal Strengths ProfileReflect on qualities you tend to rely on when pursuing important goals.Big Five Personality TestCompare personal priorities with broad personality traits.How to Find Your Core ValuesUse choices, conflicts and repeated behavior to identify the values that matter most.What Are Core Values?Understand values as priorities rather than moral scores or fixed rules.
Ready to Begin?
Start the free core values test
24 items. About 5-7 minutes. Your basic result appears immediately after completion.
No signup · No credit cardRead before or after your result
Guides built for this assessment
Use these focused articles to understand the construct behind the test and interpret your result with more context.
What Are Core Values? Examples, Meaning and How Values Guide Choices
What are core values? Learn how personal values work, common examples, why values can conflict, and what a core values test can and cannot tell you.
Read guide →How to Find Your Core Values: A Practical Psychology-Based Process
Learn how to find your core values by examining trade-offs, repeated choices, meaningful experiences and value conflicts instead of choosing attractive words from a list.
Read guide →More context for this assessment
Related supporting guides
These guides connect directly to concepts measured or interpreted by this assessment.