IPIP-VIA-R Character Strengths
A 96-item public-domain inventory of the 24 character strengths from the Values in Action (VIA) framework, refined and validated by Bluemke and colleagues (2021). Each strength is measured by four balanced-keyed items rated on a 1–5 accuracy scale. Results include per-strength percent-of-max scores with non-diagnostic Higher / Average / Lower narrative bands. Population percentiles from the Eugene-Springfield Community Sample (ESCS; a US community adult panel, N ≈ 550–710 per strength) are available for 19 of the 24 character strengths; the remaining 5 (Judgment, Integrity, Kindness, Equanimity, Prudence) are percent-of-max only, as their ESCS reliability fell below the α ≥ 0.50 norming threshold.
At a glance
Detailed write-up pending
A full, citation-backed scientific write-up for this scale — overview, clinical use, and psychometrics in the voice of a dissertation "Measures" section — has not yet been authored. To honor the platform's no-fabricated-sources rule, this page currently shows only the verified registry facts above (item count, structure, scoring, and any published norms). No validity coefficients, reliability figures, or citations are shown here that cannot be traced to a named source; the authored write-up will be added once its sources have been read and recorded in the plan-integrity file.
Subscales
Originality/Creativity 4 items
how much you generate novel and useful ideas
Curiosity 4 items
how much you take an interest in ongoing experience
Judgment 4 items
how much you think things through and weigh evidence
Learning 4 items
how much you enjoy mastering new skills and knowledge
Perspective 4 items
how much you offer wise counsel and see the big picture
Valor/Bravery 4 items
how readily you face challenge, threat, or pain
Perseverance 4 items
how reliably you finish what you start
Integrity/Honesty 4 items
how truthful and genuine you are
Zest/Vitality 4 items
how much energy and enthusiasm you bring to life
Love 4 items
how much you value close, caring relationships
Kindness 4 items
how much you do good for others
Social Intelligence 4 items
how well you read your own and others' feelings
Teamwork 4 items
how loyal and committed you are to a group
Fairness 4 items
how evenhandedly you treat everyone
Leadership 4 items
how well you organize and encourage a group toward goals
Forgiveness 4 items
how readily you forgive those who do wrong
Modesty 4 items
how much you let your achievements speak for themselves
Prudence 4 items
how carefully you make choices to avoid undue risk
Self-Regulation 4 items
how well you manage your feelings and impulses
Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence 4 items
how much you notice beauty and skill in the world
Gratitude 4 items
how aware and thankful you are for the good in life
Hope 4 items
how much you expect the best and work toward it
Humor 4 items
how much you bring laughter and lightness to others
Spirituality/Religiousness 4 items
how much you hold beliefs about meaning and purpose
Example item
“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.
Scoring & interpretation
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.
Psychometrics & norms
| Scale | M | SD | N | α | Metric |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Originality/Creativity | 14.79 | 3.04 | 711 | 0.76 | summed raw |
| Curiosity | 16.59 | 2.37 | 711 | 0.63 | summed raw |
| Learning | 16.59 | 2.52 | 711 | 0.56 | summed raw |
| Perspective | 16.04 | 2.30 | 713 | 0.57 | summed raw |
| Valor/Bravery | 14.35 | 2.97 | 713 | 0.70 | summed raw |
| Perseverance | 16.03 | 2.86 | 592 | 0.76 | summed raw |
| Zest/Vitality | 15.44 | 2.83 | 713 | 0.61 | summed raw |
| Love | 15.51 | 2.82 | 713 | 0.61 | summed raw |
| Social Intelligence | 14.66 | 2.67 | 642 | 0.64 | summed raw |
| Teamwork | 16.44 | 2.29 | 713 | 0.54 | summed raw |
| Leadership | 14.61 | 3.16 | 713 | 0.77 | summed raw |
| Forgiveness | 14.54 | 2.71 | 554 | 0.63 | summed raw |
| Modesty | 14.70 | 3.02 | 711 | 0.58 | summed raw |
| Self-Regulation | 13.16 | 3.08 | 713 | 0.63 | summed raw |
| Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence | 16.59 | 2.64 | 711 | 0.62 | summed raw |
| Gratitude | 17.57 | 1.99 | 685 | 0.53 | summed raw |
| Hope | 15.22 | 2.57 | 657 | 0.56 | summed raw |
| Humor | 15.84 | 2.66 | 713 | 0.66 | summed raw |
| Spirituality/Religiousness | 16.30 | 3.48 | 686 | 0.74 | summed raw |
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.
Source & citation
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).