Maximizing Tendency Test

Some people are happy to settle on a good option, while others keep searching for the best possible one. This test helps you discover how inclined you are to compare alternatives, strive for the ideal outcome and put in extra effort to make the best choice.

It looks at how you act in everyday decisions, from buying a car or choosing an outfit to a job, an apartment or a course, and at the habits behind those choices: whether you keep looking once you have found something that suits you, how hard choosing feels and what standards you set for yourself.

The test combines situational questions based on the method developed by Diab, Gillespie and Highhouse with statements from the Maximization Scale by Barry Schwartz and colleagues.

The situational part shows how you would act when a good option is already at hand but a better one may be out there; the statements describe how you typically think, choose and weigh alternatives. Together they form a single overall measure of the tendency toward maximizing. This combined version has not undergone separate psychometric validation, so its three result levels are approximate.

You are first given five real-life situations: for each you choose what you would be most likely to do and then the option you would be least likely to pick. After that you rate thirteen statements from “Strongly disagree” to “Strongly agree”.

After completing the test you receive your overall level of maximizing, from a tendency to settle for a good enough option, through a balanced approach, to a strong pull toward the best possible one, together with a description of how this level tends to show: in how quickly you decide, how many alternatives you compare and whether you keep thinking about other options after the choice is made.

The result helps you see where high standards work for you and where a good enough choice would be the wiser one, and can be supplemented with personalized AI analysis in the Who Am I? app.

1. D. L. Diab, M. A. Gillespie, S. Highhouse — Are Maximizers Really Unhappy? The Measurement of Maximizing Tendency
2. M. D. Kokkoris — Maximizing Without Borders: Evidence That Maximizing Transcends Decision Domains
3. G. Y. Nenkov, M. Morrin, A. Ward, B. Schwartz, J. Hulland — A Short Form of the Maximization Scale: Factor Structure, Reliability and Validity Studies