The psychologists Martin Seligman and Christopher Paterson have developed a test called VIA, which allows to measure, classify and measure the strengths and virtues of each person. You could say that it is a self-report and 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.

To be able to do this test, the researchers were based on three criteria: virtue’s own entity (remarkable and recognizable), universality (that can serve all people), learning (that can be learned from them, that is, improve 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).

What are the basic virtues?

The six groups of basic virtues that are 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 implies the strengthening of the will (and its use) when reaching the goals. Grouped here are emotional virtues such as courage, vitality, persistence, and integrity.

3 – Humanity: It implies concern for the welfare 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 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 to say, 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 the ability of people to make their life part of something bigger, in a global context. For this we must understand our existence as within a broad process in time and space. Within this category we can find the appreciation of beauty, spirituality, gratitude and hope.

How is the test to know the personality?

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 as well. It is available in Spanish and the questions are of the “multiple choice” type to choose the answer that best suits your personality.

The first tip before starting the test is “be honest and accurate.” Remember that no one else has to know what you answer in each case and if you lie, you are 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 answer are: very similar to me; something similar to me, neutral, something different from me and very different from me.

Doing this questionnaire will take you approximately ten minutes, but do not hesitate to do it, as it reveals more than interesting things about your personality that you did not even know you had.