Self-report measure

Brief Self-Control Scale (BSCS)

A 13-item self-report measure of trait (dispositional) self-control: the ability to override or change inner responses and to interrupt undesired behavioral tendencies. Respondents rate how much each statement reflects them on a 1–5 scale, and higher scores indicate greater self-control. Scores are interpreted descriptively.

A short trait measure of how well you can override impulses and stick with longer-term goals.

You learn how strong your everyday self-control is compared with the way most people describe theirs.

For anyone who wants to understand how well they resist impulses and stick to their goals.

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Report and PDF $3, paid after you finish.

Your answers stay private.

It comes from social psychology research linking everyday self-control to health, relationships and achievement.

Sample result, example data. Illustrative chart with invented scores; it does not describe any real respondent.

What this test is

Welcome. A 13-item self-report measure of trait (dispositional) self-control: the ability to override or change inner responses and to interrupt undesired behavioral tendencies. Respondents rate how much each statement reflects them on a 1–5 scale, and higher scores indicate greater self-control. Scores are interpreted descriptively.

A short trait measure of how well you can override impulses and stick with longer-term goals.

The measure

The Brief Self-Control Scale (BSCS) was developed by Tangney and colleagues (2004). It has 13 items, each answered on a 5-point (Not at all like me … Very much like me) scale.

Tangney, J. P., Baumeister, R. F., & Boone, A. L. (2004). High self-control predicts good adjustment, less pathology, better grades, and interpersonal success. Journal of Personality, 72(2), 271–324.

At a glance

Items

Response scale

5-point (Not at all like me … Very much like me)

Est. time

~2 min

Access

Free to take · Full report and PDF for $3, or $2 to repeat

What it measures

Thirteen statements describe everyday self-control: being good at resisting temptation, refusing things that are bad for oneself, working effectively toward long-term goals, and being able to stop oneself from doing something one knows is wrong. Others describe its absence: having trouble concentrating, doing things that feel good in the moment but are regretted later, saying inappropriate things, and being lazy.

Tangney, Baumeister and Boone (2004) developed a longer self-control scale and this brief form to study the capacity to override impulses and bring behavior into line with standards and goals. Their work was part of a larger program of research by Baumeister and colleagues on self-regulation, which treated self-control as a central human strength.

The ratings are combined into one score, with impulsive items reversed. Higher scores describe a stronger, more consistent capacity to resist impulses and follow through on intentions; lower scores describe more frequent difficulty doing so. The score describes a general tendency, and self-control can still vary considerably with fatigue, stress and circumstance.

The scale is used widely in research on health behavior, achievement and relationships, and in coaching and counseling. On this site, the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) focuses on managing emotions, the IPIP Behavioral Inhibition and Activation Scales describe sensitivity to reward and threat, and the Impulsive-Nonconformity Scale describes impulsive, rule-disregarding tendencies.

Nomological network

Convergently, Brief SCS correlated .93 and .92 with the Total SCS. Convergently, higher self-control related to better adjustment (fewer psychopathology reports, higher self-esteem), better relationships and interpersonal skills, more secure attachment, and more optimal emotional responses (Tangney et al., 2004). Discriminantly/incremental-wise, positive effects generally remained after controlling social desirability despite substantial raw correlations with Marlowe–Crowne/BIDR desirability (rs ≈ .54–.60), and tests for curvilinearity found no drawback of “overcontrol” (Tangney et al., 2004). Predictively, higher scores correlated with higher GPA and less binge eating and alcohol abuse. Later work has debated multi-factor (restraint vs impulsivity) structure of the BSCS (e.g., Maloney et al., 2011); this site reports the standard total self-control score.

Example item

“I am good at resisting temptation.”

Not at all like meVery much like me

Illustrative only. During administration items are presented one screen-set at a time; response-key direction is never shown to respondents.

Scoring & interpretation

Your report explains each of your scale scores in plain language.

Related measures

Common questions

How many items?

13 on the Brief Self-Control Scale (Tangney et al., 2004).

What does it predict?

Higher scores related to higher GPA, better adjustment, less binge eating/alcohol abuse, and better relationships, with effects largely surviving social-desirability controls (Tangney et al., 2004).

References

Tangney, J. P., Baumeister, R. F., & Boone, A. L. (2004). High self-control predicts good adjustment, less pathology, better grades, and interpersonal success. Journal of Personality, 72(2), 271–324.
Maloney, P. W., Grawitch, M. J., & Barber, L. K. (2011). The multi-factor structure of the Brief Self-Control Scale: Discriminant validity of restraint and impulsivity. Journal of Research in Personality, 46(1), 111–115.

Sample report preview

The report shows your total score and where it falls across the range of possible scores, followed by a plain-language explanation of what scores in that region describe. Where the instrument has published interpretive bands, the report names the band and what it means. It closes with notes on how to read the result and on when a conversation with a qualified professional may be useful.

Report contents
Section	What it shows
Score	Your scale score, computed with the published scoring key.
Comparisons	How your scores compare with a published comparison group.

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