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Hedonic and Eudaimonic Motives for Activities Scale (HEMA-R)3

Hedonic and Eudaimonic Motives for Activities Scale (HEMA-R) Test

Understand whether your actions are driven more by pleasure, comfort, or personal growth in about 3 minutes. This quick 11 item check-in supports coaching, counseling, and research by clarifying motivation and inner tension.

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Questions: 113 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

21,229 views

1,555 completions

1,226 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

15/21

Hedonic Comfort Motivation (HCM)

Measures the extent to which a person is motivated to choose activities for relaxation, rest, and maintaining comfort by avoiding tension.

Low comfort-seeking

Moderate comfort-seeking

High comfort-seeking

3 – 9: Low comfort-seeking | 10 – 15: Moderate comfort-seeking | 16 – 21: High comfort-seeking

A score of 15 indicates a moderate tendency to prioritize calm, restorative, and low-strain activities as a source of motivation.

example score

16/21

Hedonic Pleasure Motivation (HPM)

Measures the extent to which a person is motivated by seeking enjoyment, fun, and pleasurable experiences in activities.

Low pleasure-seeking

Moderate pleasure-seeking

High pleasure-seeking

3 – 9: Low pleasure-seeking | 10 – 15: Moderate pleasure-seeking | 16 – 21: High pleasure-seeking

A score of 16 indicates a high tendency to choose activities primarily for enjoyment and positive, pleasurable feelings.

example score

25/35

Eudaimonic Motivation (EM)

Measures the extent to which a person is motivated by meaning, authenticity, and personal growth in their activities.

Lower eudaimonic focus

Balanced eudaimonic focus

Strong eudaimonic focus

5 – 15: Lower eudaimonic focus | 16 – 25: Balanced eudaimonic focus | 26 – 35: Strong eudaimonic focus

A score of 25 suggests a balanced tendency to seek meaning and self-development in activities, without this motive being consistently dominant.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Self-improvement seekers

41%OF USERS

People exploring what really drives their choices to balance personal growth with enjoyment in daily life.

Coaching and therapy clients

34%OF USERS

Clients using the results with a professional to unpack tension between wanting comfort now and striving for meaningful change.

Psychology students and researchers

25%OF USERS

Learners and researchers who need a quick, structured measure of hedonic versus eudaimonic motivation for studies or training.

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.

Motivation of Hedonistic Comfort (MoHC)

Average

12.5

Normal range

9.7 — 15.2

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.

Motivation of Hedonistic Pleasure (MoHP)

Average

9.8

Normal range

6.5 — 13.1

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.

Eudaimonic Motivation (EM)

Average

18.8

Normal range

14.1 — 23.5

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

- Completely untrue
- Untrue
- Somewhat untrue
- Neither true nor untrue
- Somewhat true
- True
- Completely true
- Completely untrue
- Untrue
- Mostly untrue
- Neither true nor untrue
- Mostly true
- True
- Completely true
- Completely untrue
- Untrue
- Mostly untrue
- Neither true nor untrue
- Mostly true
- True
- Completely true

These are 3 of the 11 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

Scale of Hedonic and Eudaimonic Motives for Activities, HEMA-R Test

Hedonic and Eudaimonic Motives for Activities Scale (HEMA-R) Test - Symptoms and Signs

motivation

This self-report measure is designed to assess motivational orientations underlying everyday activities. The Hedonic and Eudaimonic Motives for Activities Scale (HEMA-R) asks respondents to rate the extent to which their activities are driven by pleasure/comfort seeking versus personal growth and meaning.

It contains 11 items and typically requires about 3 minutes to complete. Scores are used to characterize relative emphasis on hedonic motives (including enjoyment and comfort) and eudaimonic motives (e.g., growth, purpose), supporting clinical formulation or research on well-being-related motivation.

The Hedonic and Eudaimonic Motives for Activities Scale (HEMA-R) is intended to complement, not replace, comprehensive assessment, and results should be interpreted in the context of the individual’s presenting concerns, setting, and other clinical or psychometric information.

Author: Edward L. Deci, Richard M. Ryan

Literature: Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual Review of Psychology. 2001.; Huta, V. Eudaimonic and hedonic orientations: Theoretical considerations and research findings. In J. Vittersø (Ed.), Handbook of eudaimonic well-being. Springer. 2016.