TestYourGenius
Peer-Reviewed Science

Built on Decades
of Research

The TYG Assessment draws from four established frameworks, each developed and validated over decades of peer-reviewed research. Trait psychology powers the free 24-question archetype test. Self-Determination Theory, attachment theory and schema therapy are added by the $39 full report.

4 Frameworks
50+ Years of Research
72 Research-Grounded Questions
24 Archetypes
Explore the science

The Four Modules

One Assessment. Four Scientific Lenses.

Each module targets a distinct psychological dimension. Together they produce a composite picture no single framework can generate alone.

A
Free

Core Style

Trait Psychology

Identifies your dominant cognitive and behavioral style across six core personality dimensions derived from Big Five research.

Costa & McCrae · Allport · Cattell
B
$39 report

Needs Map

Self-Determination Theory

Measures the fulfilment of your three core psychological needs — the engine behind motivation, wellbeing, and life satisfaction.

Deci & Ryan · 1985–2000
C
$39 report

Connection Style

Attachment Theory

Maps how you form and maintain close relationships using two orthogonal dimensions: attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance.

Bowlby · Ainsworth · Bartholomew & Horowitz
D
$39 report

Stress & Coping

Schema Therapy

Identifies the emotional modes you activate under stress — each a window into early learned patterns and coping strategies.

Jeffrey Young · 1994–2003
Module A
Trait Psychology & The Big Five

How You Think, Feel, and Engage by Default

Trait psychology holds that personality is composed of stable, measurable dimensions that predict how people think, feel, and behave across situations. The modern foundation is the Big Five model (Costa & McCrae, 1992) — five broad factors distilled from decades of factor-analytic research: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

TYG's Module A is rooted in this lineage but focuses on six clusters most predictive of how a person engages with the world on a day-to-day basis — refined into the six archetype islands: Curious, Driven, Expressive, Grounded, Independent, and Sensitive.

The key insight: Traits are not personality disorders or temporary moods — they are stable tendencies that remain consistent across time and context. Identifying your dominant cluster explains much of what feels "natural" versus effortful.

Curious island Curious
Driven island Driven
Expressive island Expressive
Grounded island Grounded
Independent island Independent
Sensitive island Sensitive

The Three Pillars

Autonomy

The need to choose your own path

The experience of volition — acting from genuine choice rather than external pressure or internal compulsion.

When metIntrinsic motivation, authenticity, ownership
When blockedCompliance, resentment, loss of identity

Competence

The need to grow and master

Feeling effective in interactions with the environment — the sense that you can meet challenges and develop mastery over time.

When metConfidence, curiosity, growth orientation
When blockedSelf-doubt, avoidance, fear of failure

Relatedness

The need to belong and be known

Feeling securely connected to others — the sense of caring for and being cared for by people who matter.

When metBelonging, vulnerability, deep connection
When blockedIsolation, withdrawal, people-pleasing
Module B
Self-Determination Theory

What You Need to Truly Thrive

Developed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan beginning in 1985, Self-Determination Theory (SDT) is one of the most widely cited frameworks in motivational psychology. It proposes that humans have three innate psychological needs — Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness — and that their fulfilment or frustration is the primary driver of wellbeing and motivation.

Unlike older drive-reduction theories, SDT distinguishes between controlled motivation (doing things out of pressure or obligation) and autonomous motivation (doing things from genuine interest or values). The difference between these two states predicts everything from productivity and creativity to physical health and relationship quality.

Why it matters: Knowing which of your three needs is most blocked — and why — is more actionable than a general personality label. It points directly to what to change.

Module C
Attachment Theory

How You Love, Connect, and Protect Yourself

Attachment theory — first proposed by John Bowlby (1969) and empirically mapped by Mary Ainsworth (1978) — describes how early relational experiences shape a person's internal working model: their default assumptions about closeness, trust, and emotional safety.

In adult attachment research (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991), two independent dimensions emerge from factor analysis: Attachment Anxiety (fear of rejection or abandonment) and Attachment Avoidance (discomfort with closeness and emotional dependence). The intersection of these two axes produces four attachment styles — each with distinct patterns in relationships, conflict, and emotional regulation.

The insight: Attachment patterns are not fixed — but they are deeply ingrained. Understanding yours is the first step to choosing differently in relationships that matter.

The Attachment Map

↑ High Anxiety
Preoccupied
High anxiety · Low avoidance

Craves closeness but fears it won't last. Hypervigilant to signs of rejection. Love is intense and often consuming.

Fearful-Avoidant
High anxiety · High avoidance

Wants connection but is equally afraid of it. Oscillates between drawing close and pulling away.

Secure
Low anxiety · Low avoidance

Comfortable with intimacy and independence. Communicates needs clearly. Resilient in conflict.

Dismissing
Low anxiety · High avoidance

Values self-reliance. Emotional distance feels safe. Intimacy may trigger discomfort.

↓ Low Anxiety
← Low Avoidance High Avoidance →
Module D
Schema Therapy — Mode Model

What Happens to You Under Pressure

Developed by Jeffrey Young in the 1990s (Young, Klosko & Weishaar, 2003), Schema Therapy integrates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Attachment Theory, and psychodynamic concepts into a unified framework for understanding persistent emotional patterns.

The Mode Model — its most clinically applicable component — describes the distinct emotional-behavioral states a person flips between, especially under stress. Each mode reflects an early learned response to unmet needs. Recognizing which modes you activate is the starting point for building the Healthy Adult — the regulated, self-aware state that integrates all others.

The insight: Your stress responses are not character flaws — they are learned adaptations. The mode you activate under pressure tells you more about your history than your character.

Child Modes

Emotional states rooted in early experience
Vulnerable Child Angry Child Impulsive Child Happy Child

Maladaptive Coping Modes

Protective strategies that outlive their usefulness
Detached Protector Detached Self-Soother Compliant Surrender Overcontrol Angry Protector

Dysfunctional Parent Modes

Internalised critical or demanding voices
Punitive Inner Critic Demanding Pressure Perfectionism Paralysis

Healthy Adult Mode

The regulated, self-aware state — the goal
Self-Compassion Emotional Regulation Adaptive Coping

Methodology

How the Assessment Was Designed

Reliable psychological measurement requires more than good questions. It requires structure, redundancy, and independence between dimensions.

72 Questions Across 4 Modules — 24 of Them Free

Multiple questions per construct improve reliability by reducing the impact of any single ambiguous item. Each dimension is measured from several angles simultaneously.

Modules Score Independently

Each of the four modules is scored on its own axis. They are not combined into a single number — because a single number would obscure the most useful information.

No Ideal Profile

There is no "best" result. The assessment maps your current pattern — not a goal state. High and low scores in every dimension carry distinct strengths and growth edges.

Scoring

How Your Result Is Calculated

Four independent scores. One complete picture.

Module A — your trait profile — determines which of the six archetype islands you land on, and within it, which of the four archetypes fits most closely. Scoring identifies where your responses cluster across the Big Five dimensions; the island with the strongest match becomes your primary home.

Modules B, C, and D don't reassign your archetype — they deepen it. Module B surfaces which of your three core psychological needs are currently met or unmet. Module C places you on the anxiety-vs-avoidance quadrant and names your attachment style. Module D identifies which emotional modes are most active for you under pressure.

Module A
Your Archetype Island
Module B
Needs Profile
Module C
Attachment Style
Module D
Stress Modes

Because the modules score on separate axes, two people with identical trait profiles can return meaningfully different full reports — different needs states, different attachment styles, different dominant stress modes. No module cancels out another, and no single number summarizes the result. What you receive is a layered profile: each dimension read from its own axis, each informative on its own.

Key Publications

The Research Behind the Assessment

These are the foundational works on which each module is built.

You've Seen the Research.
Now See What It Reveals About You.

Four frameworks across 72 questions. The first 24 are free and give you your archetype.

Begin the Assessment

This is not a medical diagnosis. The TYG Assessment is a self-awareness tool designed for personal growth and reflection. It does not constitute clinical psychological assessment.

Begin the Assessment