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Responsibility Symptom Complex Diagnostic Questionnaire3

Responsibility Symptom Complex Diagnostic Questionnaire Test

This 67-question self-report assessment takes about 13 minutes and explores how you approach obligations, moral standards, social expectations, and personal agency. The Responsibility Symptom Complex Diagnostic Questionnaire Test helps you understand your responsibility profile, identify recurring patterns in decisions and relationships, and use the result for focused self-reflection.

Questions: 6713 minutes

Responsibility Symptom Complex Diagnostic Questionnaire: sample question card

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

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3,344 completions

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Daniel Hall Psychologist · Test reviewer

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Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

Self-Sacrifice (E)SS

Measures the tendency to assume responsibilities for others to the point of self-denial, often paired with helping and controlling behavior.

example score4/12

4/12Lowexample score

0 – 4Low

5 – 8Moderate

9 – 12High

A score of 4 falls in the Low range, suggesting self-sacrificing responsibility is not a prominent way you take on obligations or relate to others.

Ethicality (D)E

Measures how strongly a person’s responsibility is guided by moral principles and ethical convictions when making decisions and acting toward others.

example score7/10

7/10Moderate ethical orientationexample score

0 – 3Low ethical orientation

4 – 7Moderate ethical orientation

8 – 10High ethical orientation

A score of 7 suggests a moderately strong tendency to act responsibly in line with ethical and moral convictions, especially in situations involving impact on others.

Normativity (C)N

Measures the tendency to follow established rules and traditions, with a focus on orderliness, self-control, and caution about change.

example score15/21

15/21Highly normativeexample score

0 – 9Flexible

10 – 14Rule-aware

15 – 21Highly normative

A score of 15 falls in the Highly normative range, suggesting a strong preference for clear rules and established expectations, often accompanied by careful self-monitoring and caution toward change.

Self-Assertion (B)SA

Measures the extent to which responsibility is used for self-assertion and gaining recognition, often alongside avoidance of excessive burdens and internal tension.

example score9/12

9/12Highexample score

0 – 4Low

5 – 8Moderate

9 – 12High

A score of 9 falls in the High range, suggesting a stronger tendency to take on responsibilities mainly for approval or recognition while showing less initiative and experiencing more inner strain.

Principledness (A)P

Measures how strongly a person relies on personal principles and personal accountability when making decisions and interpreting outcomes.

example score6/12

6/12Moderateexample score

0 – 4Low

5 – 8Moderate

9 – 12High

A score of 6 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a generally principle-guided sense of responsibility that is present but not rigid or dominant in most situations.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Psychologists and coaches

41%OF USERS

They use it to quickly see what kind of responsibility drives a client and where it may create stress, rigidity, or self-sacrifice.

Team leads and HR

34%OF USERS

They take it to understand who tends to overtake duties, who follows rules by default, and how to distribute tasks and feedback more effectively.

Over-responsible achievers

25%OF USERS

They want to figure out whether their sense of duty is principled, ethical, or self-denying and how it affects burnout and relationships.

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

Self-Sacrifice (E)

You?

Average6.6

Typical rangeTypical5 – 8.2

Possible0 – 12

Ethics (D)

You?

Average6

Typical rangeTypical4.4 – 7.6

Possible0 – 10

Normativity (C)

You?

Average14.6

Typical rangeTypical10.9 – 18.3

Possible0 – 21

Self-assertion (B)

You?

Average4.5

Typical rangeTypical2.7 – 6.4

Possible0 – 12

Principledness (A)

You?

Average8.2

Typical rangeTypical6.7 – 9.8

Possible0 – 12

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

You will be presented with a series of statements concerning various aspects of life and attitudes toward them. Please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with each statement by selecting “Yes” or “No.” There are no good or bad, right or wrong answers. The most appropriate response is the one you give based on your first impression.

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

These are 3 of the 67 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

Responsibility Symptom Complex Diagnostic Questionnaire Test - Description and methodology of the test

responsibility

People reflecting on their own responsibilities can use this questionnaire to examine how obligations, standards, and personal agency shape everyday choices. It is intended for self-reflection on responsibility dimensions such as over-responsibility, reliance on rules, recognition and approval needs, and tension around obligations. The Responsibility Symptom Complex Diagnostic Questionnaire Test organizes these themes into a coherent result that can make recurring strengths and tensions easier to discuss.

What This Assessment Explores

Across work, family, promises, fairness, health, authority, tasks, and criticism, responsibility patterns are mapped; the scales show tendencies, not labels:

Self-Sacrifice (E), 0-12, reflects duty-taking, helping or controlling others, feeling undervalued, pursuing aims through others; Low 0-4, Moderate 5-8, High 9-12.
Ethicality (D), 0-10, reflects moral responsibility, consequence awareness, and conduct matching convictions; Low ethical orientation 0-3, Moderate ethical orientation 4-7, High ethical orientation 8-10.
Normativity (C), 0-21, reflects anxiety, self-reflection, traditional rule adherence; Flexible 0-9, Rule-aware 10-14, Highly normative 15-21.
Self-Assertion (B), 0-12, reflects approval needs, avoiding excessive responsibility, limited initiative, and internal tension; Low 0-4, Moderate 5-8, High 9-12.
Principledness (A), 0-12, reflects agency, moral rigor, possible pedantry, and discounts others’ opinions; Low 0-4, Moderate 5-8, High 9-12.

Methodology and Scientific Basis

Each statement is answered Yes or No, inviting direct endorsement rather than a graded frequency estimate. Responses are grouped into five scale totals, and the result screen assigns each total to its named band. Since the point value of each answer is not specified, the bands should be read as displayed classifications, not reverse-engineered scoring rules.

It offers a compact profile of responsibility traits, including obligation-taking, rule adherence, approval needs, and agency. Methodologically, it is conceptually consistent with ODLSO, which separates related manifestations of responsibility rather than producing one undifferentiated score. Muzdybayev’s framework clarifies responsibility, agency, norms, and self-regulation; Schlenker et al.’s Triangle Model adds the relation among an actor, an action, and its consequences.

The online questionnaire is a self-report tool conceptually consistent with ODLSO, not a reproduction of the published instrument; that relationship does not transfer ODLSO’s psychometric properties to it. Scores can shift with honesty, self-awareness, relationships, and situational pressure; the displayed bands are descriptive categories, and scores are not clinical diagnoses.

Author: Julian B. Rotter

Literature:

Kocharyan, I. A. (2008). Questionnaire for Diagnosing the Personal Responsibility Symptom Complex (ODLSO) and Assessing Its Psychometric Characteristics. Bulletin of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. Series: Psychology, No. 807, pp. 179-186.
Muzdybayev, Kuanyshbek. (1983). Psychology of Responsibility. Leningrad: Nauka, Leningrad Branch, 240 pp.
Schlenker, Barry R., Thomas W. Britt, John Pennington, Rodolfo Murphy, and Kevin Doherty. (1994). The Triangle Model of Responsibility. Psychological Review, 101(4), 632-652. 10.1037/0033-295X.101.4.632

Updated: 2025-10-02