ViaHeaderLong

Username

Welcome to the VIA Inventory of Signature Strengths

ViaRegImageVIA Inventory of Strengths is the work of VIA Institute on Character, an initiative of the Manuel D. and Rhoda Mayerson Foundation. VIA is pleased to make the VIA Inventory of Strengths free to the public.

The VIA Inventory of Strengths is a 240-item self-report questionnaire that is intended for use by adults. It measures the degree to which respondents endorse each of the 24 strengths of character in the VIA Classification. It takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. A report is immediately generated indicating 5 top strengths, a description of each, and a comparison of your scores to others who have taken the test.

Dr. Martin Seligman and Dr. Chris Peterson, along with other top scholars in the country, led the research effort to create the VIA Classification. They found surprisingly strong agreement worldwide with regard to six general categories, or "virtues", which were labeled: wisdom, courage, justice, humanity, temperance, and spirituality. They then defined the paths by which each of these virtues are expressed resulting in 24 "character strengths" that are distributed across the six virtue categories.

Click here to see the VIA Classification of six virtues and 24 character strengths.

Click here for Usage and Interpretation Guidelines for the VIA Inventory of Strengths.

 Meet The Authors

Dr. Martin Seligman:

Dr. Seligman's main mission has been the promotion of the field of Positive Psychology. This discipline includes the study of positive emotion, positive character traits, and positive institutions. Dr. Seligman is now turning his attention to training Positive Psychologists, individuals whose practice will make the world a happier place, parallel to the way clinical psychologists have made the world a less unhappy place. Read full bio ...

 

Dr. Christopher Peterson:

CPetersonDr. Peterson is one of the 250 most highly cited psychologists and psychiatrists over the past 20 years. He is the co-author (with Martin Seligman) of the book, Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification.More...