IPIP-VIA-R Character Strengths

The IPIP-VIA-R (Bluemke, Partsch, Saucier, & Lechner, 2021) measures the 24 character strengths of the Values in Action framework — curiosity, kindness, perseverance, humility, and the rest — with four balanced public-domain items per strength, 96 items in all. Bluemke and colleagues refined the earlier IPIP-VIA item sets for content validity and cross-cultural comparability.

Strengths are reported as separate standings against the Eugene–Springfield Community Sample reference values in the norms section; the profile's value lies in its highest and lowest strengths rather than any total.

The notes below are reproduced from the platform's psychometrics register for this instrument — the same source-cited reliability, validity, and norms text that accompanies its downloadable report.

Bluemke et al. (2021) report internal consistency for the 24 VIA-R character-strength scales: mean alpha = .72 (range .55–.84) for the 4-item scales across two validation samples.

The IPIP-VIA-R operationalizes the 24 VIA character strengths using balanced-keyed public-domain items. Factor analyses support grouping the 24 strengths under the six VIA core virtues. Scales show expected convergent and discriminant validity patterns with personality and well-being measures (Bluemke et al., 2021).

Scores are expressed as percent-of-maximum on the 1–5 accuracy scale using Higher/Average/Lower bands. No single normative sample is designated for this revised IPIP-based operationalization; the authors provide descriptive statistics from validation samples but do not specify a reference norm group.

“Am not considered to have new and different ideas.”

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

Item responses are summed within each scale (reverse-keyed items recoded first) and expressed as a population percentile against the cited reference sample, with a reliability-based confidence range where α is published.

Norms computed from the Eugene-Springfield Community Sample (ESCS) — Lewis R. Goldberg’s adult community panel from Eugene and Springfield, Oregon (Harvard Dataverse, doi:10.7910/DVN/UF52WY). This is a community sample and is NOT nationally representative. The mean, standard deviation, reference N and Cronbach’s α were computed directly from the raw IPIP item-level responses on THIS scale’s exact item set and reverse-keying (complete cases); reference N varies by scale and is shown with each scale below. The confidence range uses the standard error of measurement (SEM = SD·√(1−α)) from that computed α.

Bluemke, M., Partsch, M. V., Saucier, G., & Lechner, C. M. (2021). Human Character in the IPIP: Towards Shorter, More Content-Valid, and Cross-Culturally Comparable IPIP-VIA Character Strength Scales (Draft v1.01). Items are public-domain, drawn from the International Personality Item Pool (Goldberg et al., 2006; https://ipip.ori.org).

Items from the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP; Goldberg et al., 2006; https://ipip.ori.org), public domain. Scale refinement and validation: Bluemke, Partsch, Saucier & Lechner (2021).