H. Schmieschek's Personality Questionnaire: Character Accentuations

According to the theory of «accentuated personalities», there are personality traits that are not in themselves pathological, but
under certain conditions can develop in a positive or negative direction. These traits are, so to speak, a sharpening of certain individual properties present in every person. In psychopaths, these traits reach a particularly high degree of expression.
Ten main types of accentuation are distinguished (Leonhard's
classification).
1. Hyperthymic — personalities inclined toward an elevated
mood.
2. Stuck (perseverating) — inclined toward «stuck affect» and
delusion-like reactions.
3. Emotive, affectively labile.
4. Pedantic, with a predominance of rigidity and pedantry traits.
5. Anxious.
6. Cyclothymic, inclined toward depressive reactions.
7. Demonstrative, with hysterical character traits.
8. Excitable, inclined toward heightened, impulsive
reactivity in the sphere of drives.
9. Dysthymic, with a tendency toward mood disorders.
10. Exalted, prone to affective exaltation.
All these groups of «accentuated personalities» are united by the
principle of accentuation of character or temperament traits. Accentuation of character traits includes:
demonstrativeness (in pathology: hysterical-type
psychopathy);
pedantry (in pathology: anankastic psychopathy);
excitability (in pathology: epileptoid psychopaths);
stuck/perseverating type (in pathology: paranoid psychopaths).
The remaining types of accentuation relate to features of temperament and reflect the tempo and depth of affective reactions.
A score above 18 points is a sign of accentuation.
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Accentuations.
1. Hyperthymia. People inclined toward an elevated mood, optimists, who quickly switch from one task to another, do not finish what they start, are undisciplined, and easily fall under the influence of unwholesome company. Adolescents are drawn to adventure and romance. They cannot stand power over themselves and dislike being looked after. There is a tendency toward
dominance and leadership. Excessively elevated mood can
lead to inappropriate behavior — the «pathologically lucky person.»
In pathology — obsessive-compulsive neurosis.
2. Stuck (perseverating) type — a tendency toward «stuck affect» and delusion-like
reactions. Pedantic, resentful people who remember grievances for a long time, get angry, and take offense. Obsessive ideas may often arise on this basis.
Strongly obsessed with a single idea. Overly single-minded, "fixated on one thing," "over the top." Emotionally rigid. They can sometimes
give affective outbursts and can display aggression. In pathology —
paranoid psychopath.
3. Emotivity. People in whom emotional sensitivity is exaggerated, whose mood shifts sharply over a reason that seems insignificant to those around them. Everything depends on their mood: both their capacity for work and their well-being. Their emotional sphere is finely organized: they are capable of deep feeling and experience. Inclined toward kind relations
with others. In love they are more vulnerable than anyone. They perceive
rudeness and boorishness extremely painfully, falling into despair or depression if
a relationship with loved ones breaks down or deteriorates.
4. Pedantry. A predominance of rigidity and pedantry traits. Rigid people who find it hard to switch from one emotion to another. They like
everything to be in its place, and for people to formulate their thoughts clearly
— extreme pedantry. The idea of order and neatness becomes the main
meaning of life. There are periods of a spiteful, gloomy mood, when everything irritates them. In pathology — epileptoid psychopathy. They can display aggression.
5. Anxiety. People of a melancholic (or choleric) type with a very high level of constitutional anxiety, who lack self-confidence. They underestimate and downplay their own abilities. They are frightened of responsibility, fear all manner of misfortunes for themselves and their
relatives, and cannot quiet their fears and anxiety, "drawing" toward themselves and their loved ones the very things they fear and worry about.
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6. Cyclothymia. Sharp mood swings. A good mood is brief, a bad mood prolonged. During a depressive phase they behave like anxious people,
tire quickly, and fall into despair over misfortunes, even to the point of suicide attempts. During a good mood they behave like hyperthymic people.
7. Demonstrativeness. In pathology — hysterical-type psychopathy. People in whom egocentrism is strongly expressed, along with a striving to be constantly at the center of attention ("let them hate me, as long as they're not indifferent"). Many such people are found among performers. If they lack the ability
to stand out, they attract attention through antisocial acts. Pathological lying — in order to embellish their own persona.
They tend to wear bright, extravagant clothing — they can be identified by appearance alone.
8. Excitability. A tendency toward heightened, impulsive reactivity in the sphere of drives. In pathology — epileptoid psychopathy.
9. Dysthymia. A tendency toward mood disorders. The opposite of hyperthymia. Low mood, pessimism, a gloomy outlook on things, fatigability. They quickly become drained in social contacts and
prefer solitude.
10. Exaltation. A tendency toward affective exaltation
(close to demonstrativeness, but there it stems from character). Here the same
manifestations occur, but at the level of emotions (everything stems from temperament). Religious
ecstasy.
Questions
1. Is your mood generally bright and unclouded?
2. Are you sensitive to insults and grievances?
3. Do you cry easily?
4. After finishing any piece of work, do you have doubts
about the quality of how it was done, and do you go back to check — whether
everything was done correctly?
5. Were you as brave as your peers in childhood?
6. Do you often have sharp mood swings (a moment ago
soaring on clouds of happiness, and suddenly feeling very sad)?
7. Are you usually the center of attention when there is merrymaking?
8. Do you have days when, for no particular reason, you are grumpy and
irritable, and everyone thinks it's better not to bother you?
9. Do you always answer letters right after reading them?
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10. Are you a serious person?
11. Are you capable of becoming so absorbed in something for a time that
everything else stops mattering to you?
12. Are you enterprising?
13. Do you quickly forget grievances and insults?
14. Are you soft-hearted?
15. When you drop a letter in a mailbox, do you check whether
it actually fell in or not?
16. Does your ambition require that you be among the first
in your work (studies)?
17. Were you afraid of thunderstorms and dogs as a child?
18. Do you sometimes laugh at indecent jokes?
19. Are there people among your acquaintances who consider you pedantic?
20. Does your mood depend heavily on external circumstances and
events?
21. Are you liked by your acquaintances?
22. Are you often in the grip of strong inner impulses and urges?
23. Is your mood usually somewhat subdued?
24. Have you ever sobbed while going through a severe nervous shock?
25. Is it hard for you to sit still in one place for long?
26. Do you stand up for your interests when you are treated
unfairly?
27. Do you sometimes boast?
28. Would you be able, if needed, to slaughter a domestic animal or bird?
29. Does it irritate you if a curtain or tablecloth is hanging crooked,
and do you try to straighten it?
30. Were you afraid of being left home alone as a child?
31. Does your mood often turn sour for no visible reason?
32. Have you ever been one of the best in your professional or academic work?
33. Do you fall into anger easily?
34. Are you capable of being playfully cheerful?
35. Do you have states where you are overflowing with happiness?
36. Could you play the role of a master of ceremonies at a lively show?
37. Have you ever lied in your life?
38. Would you tell people your opinion of them straight to their face?
39. Can you look at blood calmly?
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40. Do you like work where you alone are responsible for
it?
41. Do you stand up for people who have been treated unfairly?
42. Are you troubled by the need to go down into a dark cellar,
or to enter an empty, dark room?
43. Do you prefer work that must be done
slowly and precisely over work that does not require much painstaking effort and is done
quickly?
44. Are you a very sociable person?
45. Did you enjoy reciting poetry at school?
46. Did you run away from home as a child?
47. Do you usually give up your seat on the bus to elderly passengers without hesitation?
48. Does life often seem hard to you?
49. Have you ever been so upset by some conflict that afterward you felt unable to go to work?
50. Can it be said that you keep your sense of humor
in the face of failure?
51. Do you try to make peace if you have offended someone?
Do you take the first steps toward reconciliation?
52. Do you love animals very much?
53. Have you ever, after leaving home, gone back to check that nothing had happened?
54. Have you ever been troubled by thoughts that something bad must happen to you or your relatives?
55. Does your mood depend significantly on the weather?
56. Is it hard for you to speak in front of a large audience?
57. Can you resort to using your fists if you get angry with someone?
58. Do you really love to have fun?
59. Do you always say what you think?
60. Can disappointment drive you into despair?
61. Are you drawn to the role of organizer in some undertaking?
62. Do you persist toward achieving a goal if you encounter some obstacle?
63. Have you ever felt satisfaction at the misfortunes
of people you dislike?
64. Can a tragic film move you so much that tears come to your
eyes?
65. Do thoughts about problems from the past or about the coming day often keep you from falling asleep?
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66. Were you inclined, in your school years, to prompt classmates or
let them copy from you?
67. Could you walk alone through a cemetery in the dark?
68. Would you return extra money to the cashier without a second thought if
you found you had been given too much?
69. Do you attach great importance to every item in your home having its own place?
70. Does it happen that, going to bed in an excellent mood,
you wake up the next morning in a bad mood that lasts several hours?
71. Do you adapt easily to a new situation?
72. Do you often have dizzy spells?
73. Do you laugh often?
74. Can you treat someone you think poorly of so cordially that no one
would guess your true attitude toward them?
75. Are you a lively, active person?
76. Do you suffer greatly when an injustice is committed?
77. Are you a passionate lover of nature?
78. When leaving home or going to bed, do you check whether the
taps are closed, all the lights are off, and the doors are locked?
79. Are you fearful?
80. Can drinking alcohol change your mood?
81. Do you willingly take part in amateur performing-arts circles?
82. Are you sometimes drawn to travel far from home?
83. Do you view the future somewhat pessimistically?
84. Do you experience shifts from a cheerful mood to a gloomy one?
85. Can you entertain a group and be the life of the party?
86. Do you hold on to feelings of anger or annoyance for a long time?
87. Do you dwell for a long time on the sorrows of other people?
88. Do you always agree with criticism directed at you when you recognize it is fair?
89. Could you, in your school years, rewrite a page in your notebook because of smudges?
90. Toward people, are you more cautious and distrustful
than trusting?
91. Do you often have frightening dreams?
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92. Do you sometimes have such intrusive thoughts that, standing
on a train platform, you might, against your will, throw yourself under an approaching train, or throw yourself from the window of a tall building?
93. Do you become more cheerful in the company of cheerful people?
94. Are you a person who does not dwell on complex problems, and if
you do engage with them, only briefly?
95. Do you commit sudden impulsive acts under the influence of alcohol?
96. In conversation, do you stay silent more than you speak?
97. Could you, while portraying someone, become so absorbed that you
temporarily forget who you really are?
Processing the results.
The number of answers that match the key is multiplied by the value
of the coefficient for the corresponding accentuation type; if the resulting value exceeds 18, this indicates that the given type of accentuation is pronounced.