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Malevolent Creativity Behavior Scale (MCBS)3

Malevolent Creativity Behavior Scale (MCBS) Test

With 12 questions and an estimated completion time of 3 minutes, the Malevolent Creativity Behavior Scale (MCBS) Test explores responses involving deception, harmful ideas, revenge, and hostile humor. Your result can highlight recurring patterns in these situations, supporting personal reflection and a clearer understanding of your behavioral profile.

Questions: 123 minutes

Malevolent Creativity Behavior Scale (MCBS): agreement scale card

October 2, 2025October 2, 2025Material has been updatedOctober 2, 2025Material has been published

29,072 views

1,917 completions

1,568 likes

Daniel Hall Psychologist · Test reviewer

1,568 likes

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

Malicious JokesMJ

Measures how often a person uses jokes or humor in ways that are intended to demean, hurt, or manipulate others.

example score2/4

2/4Moderateexample score

0 – 1Low

2 – 3Moderate

4High

A score of 2 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting occasional use of humor that may be sarcastic, cutting, or socially undermining.

LieL

Measures the tendency to use creative tactics to deceive or mislead others to achieve goals.

example score2/4

2/4Moderateexample score

0 – 1Low

2 – 3Moderate

4High

A score of 2 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting occasional use of creative deception in pursuit of objectives.

Inflicting HarmIH

Measures the tendency to apply creative ideas or strategies in ways that intentionally cause harm to others.

example score1/4

1/4Lowexample score

0 – 1Low

2 – 3Moderate

4High

A score of 1 falls in the Low range, suggesting limited endorsement of creatively harmful actions or strategies in this assessment.

Antisocial CreativityAC

Measures the tendency to use creative thinking to pursue goals that violate social norms or involve manipulation.

example score2/4

2/4Moderateexample score

0 – 1Low

2 – 3Moderate

4High

A score of 2 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting occasional endorsement of creatively rule-bending or manipulative strategies rather than a consistent pattern.

just completed the test

DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Researchers in dark creativity

41%OF USERS

Academic and applied researchers use it to measure how people might channel creativity into harmful or manipulative actions for studies and screening protocols.

HR and people leaders

34%OF USERS

Managers and HR teams take it to gauge risk signals in hiring, team dynamics, and conflict situations where manipulation or sabotage is a concern.

Clinicians and counselors

25%OF USERS

Mental health and forensic practitioners use it as a quick check for antisocial behavioral tendencies that may affect treatment planning or risk management.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Shaded area — where most people score

Dot — the average

You — your score lands on each curve after the test— your score, after the test

Mean jokesMj

You?

Average2.3

Typical rangeTypical1.7 – 2.9

Possible0 – 4

LieL

You?

Average1.5

Typical rangeTypical0.8 – 2.2

Possible0 – 4

Causing HarmCH

You?

Average1.7

Typical rangeTypical1 – 2.3

Possible0 – 4

Antisocial Creativity ScaleACS

You?

Average1.9

Typical rangeTypical1.4 – 2.5

Possible0 – 4

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Always
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Always
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Always

These are 3 of the 12 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

Malevolent Creativity Behavior Scale (MCBS) Test - Description and methodology of the test

dark qualities of creativity

Readers curious about how their responses cluster across situations may use the Malevolent Creativity Behavior Scale (MCBS) Test to compare four separate tendencies. It suits people who want to see whether one pattern stands out, several are similarly frequent, or responses are spread fairly evenly across the scales. A malevolent creativity assessment supports focused self-reflection while describing reported tendencies rather than motives or character.

What This Assessment Explores

The questionnaire asks how often respondents report thoughts, ideas, worries, and behaviors linked to socially harmful situations. Across its four domains, this antisocial creativity measure covers hostile or humiliating humor, creative deception, ideas for harm, and creative actions that conflict with social norms.

Together, these dimensions describe reported frequency, not underlying ability, intent, or future conduct.

The result is organized into four dimensions:

Malicious Jokes (0-4) measures humor used to harm, humiliate, or manipulate; Low 0-1, Moderate 2-3, High 4-4.
Lie (0-4) measures creative deception used to reach goals; Low 0-1, Moderate 2-3, High 4-4.
Inflicting Harm (0-4) measures creative ideas for causing harm; Low 0-1, Moderate 2-3, High 4-4.
Antisocial Creativity (0-4) measures creative action against social norms, including rule-breaking or manipulation; Low 0-1, Moderate 2-3, High 4-4.

The bands describe relative frequency, not fixed conduct.

Methodology and Scientific Basis

Each item asks how often a respondent experiences or uses a behavior, with five choices from Never to Always. Themes include revenge, deception, hostile jokes, rule-breaking, and concern about discovery. The wording covers thoughts and reported actions; self-report may shift with current context or willingness to acknowledge troubling thoughts.

The online malevolent creativity questionnaire provides four results rather than a total score. The displayed choices do not document how responses convert into points, so they cannot establish the scoring formula.

The closest evidence is the published Malevolent Creativity Behavior Scale (Hao et al., 2016). This questionnaire is conceptually consistent with that instrument, not a validated reproduction or adaptation. Cropley, Kaufman, and Cropley connect creativity with harmful goals; Sternberg and Lubart offer a broader creativity framework. Evidence for the published instrument does not validate or norm this online version.

Interpret the profile as a snapshot of reported tendencies: answers reflect current context and self-awareness, the displayed bands organize results rather than establish clinical thresholds, and the score requires broader context rather than yielding a diagnostic conclusion.

Author: Robert J. Sternberg, Todd I. Lubart

Literature:

Hao, N., Tang, M., Yang, J., Wang, Q., and Runco, M. A. (2016). A New Tool to Measure Malevolent Creativity: The Malevolent Creativity Behavior Scale. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 682. 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00682
Ramos-Vera, C., et al. (2026). Cross-Cultural Validation of the Malevolent Creativity Behavior Scale in 7 Countries. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 60(1), e70084. 10.1002/jocb.70084
Cropley, D. H., Kaufman, J. C., and Cropley, A. J. (2008). Malevolent Creativity: A Functional Model of Creativity in Terrorism and Crime. Creativity Research Journal, 20(2), 105-115. 10.1080/10400410802059424
Sternberg, R. J., and Lubart, T. I. (1996). Investing in Creativity. American Psychologist, 51(7), 677-688. 10.1037/0003-066X.51.7.677

Updated: 2025-10-02