Psychological Essentialism Scale Test
Understand how strongly you see group identity as inborn and fixed in about 2 minutes. This 7 item scale gives clear, actionable insight to support research, bias work, and better communication.


08:30
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How the Scales are Structured
DATA-BASED USER COHORTS
Who Usually Takes This Test?
BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.
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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.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.
Psychological Essentialism Scale (PES)
Psychological Essentialism Scale (PES)
Average
23.3
Normal range
16.7 — 30
min.
7
max.
49
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.
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
Read each statement, but replace [group name] with any group of people (e.g., ethnic, national, religious, gender, etc.). Rate the extent to which you agree with each statement.
- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Somewhat agree
- Agree
- Strongly agree
- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Somewhat agree
- Agree
- Strongly agree
- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Somewhat agree
- Agree
- Strongly agree
WHAT THE TEST MEASURES
About This Assessment
Psychological Essentialism Scale Test - Symptoms and Signs
This brief self-report measure assesses beliefs about whether social groups have an inherent, underlying “essence” that is stable over time. The Psychological Essentialism Scale is used to characterize the degree to which respondents view group membership as natural, immutable, and potentially biologically grounded. It was developed by Susan A. Gelman and Lawrence J. Hirschfeld.
The instrument contains 7 items and typically takes about 2 minutes to complete. Scores from the Psychological Essentialism Scale are commonly interpreted as an index of essentialist thinking about social categories and may be used in research or applied settings focused on intergroup attitudes and related sociocognitive beliefs.
Author: Lawrence J. Hirschfeld, Susan A. Gelman
Literature: Haslam, N., Rothschild, L., & Ernst, D. Are essentialist beliefs associated with prejudice? British Journal of Social Psychology. 2002.
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