Nice Guy Syndrome Test

Understand how approval-seeking shapes your choices in about 4 minutes. Get clear results on people-pleasing patterns and where to start building healthier boundaries.

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Questions: 204 minutes

08:30

September 1, 2026

September 1, 2026
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

20,857 views

2,548 completions

1,561 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

9/20

Nice Guy Syndrome (NGS)

Measures the tendency to seek approval by suppressing one’s own needs and avoiding conflict, often with difficulty setting boundaries.

Low

Moderate

High

0 – 4: Low | 5 – 9: Moderate | 10 – 20: High

A score of 9 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a noticeable pattern of people-pleasing and self-suppression that may show up in some situations but is not consistently dominant.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

People-pleasers feeling drained

41%OF USERS

They often say yes when they want to say no and feel exhausted, resentful, or invisible in relationships and daily life.

Relationship and dating strugglers

34%OF USERS

They notice they hide needs, avoid conflict, or overgive to keep closeness, then feel anxious about being rejected.

Helpers in caring roles

25%OF USERS

Therapists, coaches, managers, and caretakers take it to check whether their support style is tied to approval-seeking and weak boundaries.

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.

The Nice Guy Syndrome (TNGS)

Average

13.7

Normal range

10.1 — 17.4

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

- Yes
- No
- Yes
- No
- Yes
- No

These are 3 of the 20 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

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WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Nice Guy Syndrome Test - Symptoms and Signs

male role

This self-report screening measure is designed to explore patterns of people-pleasing, approval-seeking, and difficulty asserting personal needs. The Nice Guy Syndrome Test asks respondents to reflect on common motivations and interpersonal behaviors that may be associated with chronic self-sacrifice and external validation.

It consists of 20 items and typically takes about 4 minutes to complete. Items focus on themes such as prioritizing others’ needs over one’s own, discomfort with conflict or boundary-setting, and reliance on others’ approval for self-worth. Results are intended to support personal reflection and can be used to guide discussion of interpersonal patterns and goals in a coaching or counseling context.

It is not a diagnostic instrument; findings should be interpreted in context alongside clinical history, current stressors, and other assessment information.

Literature: Galla, S. Nice guy syndrome: What it is and how to fix being a nice guy. Mensgroup.com. 2019.; Pleck, J. H. The myth of masculinity. MIT Press. 1981.