What are your strengths?

Psychologists Martin Seligman and Christopher Paterson have developed a test called VIA, which allows the strengths and virtues of each person to be measured, classified and measured. You could say that it is a self-report and it allows you to know what your 24 basic virtues are (yes, you have 24 virtues to be proud of). These are grouped into six categories.

In order to carry out this test, the researchers were based on three criteria: virtue’s own entity (remarkable and recognizable), universality (that it can serve all people), learning (that it can be learned from them, that is, improved as human being).

In turn, they studied the most relevant aspects of the great philosophers (Plato, Aristotle, Confucius) and religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism).

The six groups of basic virtues indicated in the test are:

1 – Wisdom: It is knowledge, it implies the acquisition of information, the ability to use intelligence and experience to obtain answers to certain problems. In this category are cognitive strengths, that is, curiosity, creativity, perspective.

2 – Courage: It involves strengthening the will (and its use) when achieving goals. Grouped here are emotional virtues such as courage, vitality, persistence and integrity.

3 – Humanity: It implies concern for the well-being of others, sensitivity towards the pain of others, solidarity with those most in need, etc. In this category we can group kindness, emotional intelligence and love.

4 – Justice: It involves all the civic traits, the common good of society and there are leadership, citizenship and equity.

5 – Temperance: It is a virtue that makes us stronger in the face of adversity and allows us to know what our needs really are. That is, we do not allow ourselves to be carried away by temptations or whims and we always seek moderation. Self-regulation, prudence, mercy, forgiveness, humility and modesty are in this category.
6 – Transcendence: It has to do with people’s ability to make their lives part of something larger, in a global context. To do this we must understand our existence as within a broad process in time and space.. Within this category we can find appreciation of beauty, spirituality, gratitude and hope.

What is the personality test like?

The good news is that this test is free and can be done by anyone who wants to. You just have to enter a website dependent on the University of Pennsylvania, register on the page and take advantage of not only the VIA test, but others. It is available in Spanish and the questions are “multiple choice” to choose the answer that best suits your personality.

The first piece of advice given before starting the test is “be honest and precise.” Remember that no one else has to know what you answer in each case. and if you lie, you will be lying to yourself. In total there are 240 questions, something that may take you a while to answer, but it is really worth it.

The questions are mostly simple to answer. A specific situation is offered and the five options to respond are: very similar to me; something similar to me, neutral, something different from me and very different from me.

Taking this questionnaire will take you approximately ten minutes, but don’t hesitate to do it, as it reveals interesting things about your personality that you didn’t even know you had.