Authenticity Inventory (AI-3) Test

In six minutes, the Authenticity Inventory (AI-3) Test asks 32 questions about how you relate to close others, act on personal values, view difficult self-information, and understand your inner experience. Your profile highlights patterns across these areas, supporting focused self-reflection about self-congruence and openness.

Questions: 326 minutes

Authenticity Inventory (AI-3) Test: situation and reply bubbles

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

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Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

RelationshipsR

Measures how strongly a person values being genuine, open, and consistently themselves in close relationships.

example score3/5

3/5Balancedexample score

1 – 2.4Guarded

2.5 – 3.6Balanced

3.7 – 5Open & authentic

A score of 3 suggests a balanced tendency toward authenticity in relationships, with openness in some situations and some selectivity about self-disclosure in others.

BehaviorB

Measures the extent to which a person’s actions align with their internal values, preferences, and needs rather than external approval.

example score4/5

4/5High alignmentexample score

1 – 2.4Low alignment

2.5 – 3.6Moderate alignment

3.7 – 5High alignment

A score of 4 indicates generally high behavioral alignment, meaning you tend to act in ways that fit your internal beliefs and needs even when outside expectations differ.

UnbiasednessU

Impartiality measures how accurately and openly you can take in self-relevant information, including uncomfortable feedback, without distortion or defensiveness.

example score3/5

3/5Balancedexample score

1 – 2.4Defensive

2.5 – 3.6Balanced

3.7 – 5Open and accurate

A score of 3 falls in the Balanced range, suggesting you generally acknowledge both strengths and weaknesses while occasionally filtering difficult self-information.

AwarenessA

Mindfulness measures how aware you are of your motives and feelings and how willing you are to trust and deepen that self-knowledge, including less pleasant aspects.

example score3/5

3/5Moderateexample score

1 – 2.3Low

2.4 – 3.6Moderate

3.7 – 5High

A score of 3 indicates a moderate level of mindfulness, suggesting generally adequate self-awareness with some room to strengthen trust in and exploration of inner experiences.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

People in transition

41%OF USERS

They’re changing careers, relationships, or life direction and want clarity on what truly matters to them and how to act in line with it.

Therapy and coaching clients

34%OF USERS

They use the results to spot patterns of self-doubt or self-denial and set concrete goals for greater self-acceptance and honest behavior.

Psychology students and researchers

25%OF USERS

They take it for coursework or studies to measure authenticity and compare self-awareness, self-acceptance, and value-consistent action across groups.

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

RelationshipsR

You?

Average3.9

Typical rangeTypical3.2 – 4.5

Possible1 – 5

BehaviorB

You?

Average3.6

Typical rangeTypical3 – 4.1

Possible1 – 5

ImpartialityI

You?

Average2.3

Typical rangeTypical1.6 – 2.9

Possible1 – 5

MindfulnessM

You?

Average2.7

Typical rangeTypical2.1 – 3.3

Possible1 – 5

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

You will be presented with a series of statements that reflect different ways people may view themselves. For each statement, select the response that you believe describes you most accurately. There are no right or wrong answers; please respond as honestly as possible.

- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Agree
- Strongly agree
- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Agree
- Strongly agree
- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Agree
- Strongly agree

These are 3 of the 32 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

Authenticity Inventory (AI-3) Test - Description and methodology of the test

authenticity

People wondering whether their everyday choices feel true to them may find the Authenticity Inventory (AI-3) Test useful when choosing a focus for self-reflection. As an authenticity questionnaire, it offers a structured starting point for noticing patterns that may merit attention, discussion, or further personal inquiry. Its profile can help a respondent decide which experiences to examine more closely.

What This Assessment Explores

The four displayed dimensions separate related but distinct aspects of authentic functioning. The profile from this authenticity assessment organizes them around openness with close others, value-guided action, willingness to face self-relevant facts, and awareness of inner states:

Relationships (1-5) reflects valuing openness, being seen by close others as one's real self, and consistency across different aspects of the self: Guarded 1-2.4, Balanced 2.5-3.6, or Open & authentic 3.7-5.
Behavior (1-5) reflects actions guided by personal values and needs: Low alignment 1-2.4, Moderate alignment 2.5-3.6, or High alignment 3.7-5.
Unbiasedness (1-5) reflects willingness to face self-relevant information, including weaknesses: Defensive 1-2.4, Balanced 2.5-3.6, or Open and accurate 3.7-5.
Awareness (1-5) reflects clarity about motives, feelings, desires, and difficult self-aspects: Low 1-2.3, Moderate 2.4-3.6, or High 3.7-5.

Methodology and Scientific Basis

This self-report questionnaire uses a five-point agreement scale from strong disagreement to strong agreement, with a midpoint. Items address feelings, motives, values, self-presentation, and reactions to criticism or unpleasant self-information. Some items describe alignment, concealment, or people-pleasing. The result summarizes responses by dimension rather than as one global score.

This online questionnaire's four dimensions are conceptually consistent with Kernis and Goldman's model of authenticity, but it should be distinguished from the published Authenticity Inventory (AI-3; Kernis & Goldman, 2006). The KGAI-SF, studied by Bond, Strauss, and Wickham in 2018, is a separate related short-form instrument; those studies do not validate this online form. Lakey et al. (2008) examined links between authenticity, mindfulness, and verbal defensiveness.

The online result is descriptive: it uses displayed bands rather than population percentiles or clinical cutoffs, indicating patterns in the respondent's answers rather than a population standing. The result from this authenticity test can help a respondent examine patterns that merit reflection, while responses are shaped by current context, self-awareness, and willingness to acknowledge unflattering experiences; scores may shift and are not a diagnosis.

Author: Brian M. Goldman, Michael H. Kernis

Literature:

Kernis, M. H., & Goldman, B. M. (2006). A multicomponent conceptualization of authenticity: Theory and research. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (Vol. 38, pp. 283-357). Academic Press. 10.1016/S0065-2601(06)38006-9
Bond, M. J., Strauss, N. E., & Wickham, R. E. (2018). Development and validation of the Kernis-Goldman authenticity inventory-short form (KGAI-SF). Personality and Individual Differences, 134, 1-6. 10.1016/j.paid.2018.05.033
Lakey, C. E., Kernis, M. H., Heppner, W. L., & Lance, C. E. (2008). Individual differences in authenticity and mindfulness as predictors of verbal defensiveness. Journal of Research in Personality, 42(1), 230-238. 10.1016/j.jrp.2007.05.002

Updated: 2025-10-02