Updated 3 November 2026
How assertive am I?
IPIP-NEO assertiveness facet, 10 items, 2 minutes
Assertiveness is the readiness to take charge, speak up and try to influence what happens, as opposed to waiting for others to lead. It is one facet of extraversion. These ten statements are the public-domain IPIP-NEO assertiveness facet.
Saved attempt
You started this test earlier on this device and your answers were kept. Carry on where you left off, or start again.
Screen 1 of 1
0 of 10 answered. Describe yourself as you generally are now, not as you wish to be in the future. Describe yourself as you honestly see yourself, in relation to other people you know of the same sex as you are, and roughly your same age.
Your results
Your answers and results are stored only in this browser, on this device. Nothing is sent to us. A share link carries your scores in the link itself.
Understanding your scores
Assertiveness
High. People who score high say they take charge, try to lead others, can talk others into doing things and seek to influence them. In daily life that shows as speaking first in meetings, volunteering to lead, pushing for a decision and stating a view before being asked. The costs are being heard as domineering and crowding out quieter people. It is a facet of extraversion, not a measure of competence or of being right.
Low. People who score low say they wait for others to lead the way, keep in the background, have little to say and hold back their opinions. In daily life that shows as letting others decide, speaking when asked, and preferring to influence by example or in writing. It is not a lack of views or ability: many low scorers lead well in roles that reward listening, and the research links assertiveness to emerging as a leader more than to leading well.
How reliable is this test
Internal consistency (coefficient alpha) per scale, as published:
| Scale | Published |
|---|---|
| Assertiveness | 0.84 |
Coefficient alpha as given on the key page, https://ipip.ori.org/newNEOKey.htm, accessed 3 November 2026.
No published norms exist for this instrument, so the results show raw scores against the possible range and no percentiles.
The IPIP key page gives coefficient alpha of .84 for this scale and no test-retest figure. Personality scores are fairly stable over weeks; a change of a few points between attempts is usual.
Limits worth knowing: ten items on one facet, self-reported. No norm sample is published for the facet on its own, so there is no percentile; the 120-item Big Five test scores the same facet with four items against a norm sample.
Guides that cover this
Questions people ask
Is assertiveness the same as aggression?
No. Assertiveness is stating what you want and taking the lead; aggression is doing so at others' expense. The scale measures the first. Low agreeableness, measured by the Big Five tests, is closer to the second.
Can assertiveness be learned?
The behaviours can be practised and many people become more comfortable speaking up with experience and age; the research finds the assertive side of extraversion rises through young adulthood on average. The underlying preference moves more slowly.
Why is there no percentile on this test?
No norm sample has been published for this scale on its own, and the site never estimates or invents norms. Your marker is drawn against the possible range instead, and the page says so. The Big Five tests do have published norms.
Is a high or low score better?
Neither. Each end has strengths and costs, and the research describes tendencies across large groups, not what any one person will do. The site never colours scores as good or bad.
Where do my answers go?
Nowhere. The test is scored in your browser and the result is kept only on this device. If you choose to share a link, your scores are inside the link itself and nothing is sent to this site.
Sources and licence
Instrument: Assertiveness. Goldberg, L. R. (1999). A broad-bandwidth, public-domain, personality inventory measuring the lower-level facets of several five-factor models. In I. Mervielde, I. Deary, F. De Fruyt, & F. Ostendorf (Eds.), Personality psychology in Europe, Vol. 7 (pp. 7-28). Tilburg University Press.
Scoring key: https://ipip.ori.org/newNEOKey.htm, checked 2026-11-03.
Licence: Public domain (IPIP). Permission is granted automatically for any person to use IPIP items for any purpose, commercial or non-commercial. https://ipip.ori.org/newPermission.htm Credit: International Personality Item Pool, https://ipip.ori.org/.