Home1
Psychological tests2
Type D Personality Scale (DS14)3

Type D Personality Scale (DS14) Test

Understand stress reactions and comfort with social interaction in about 3 minutes. A quick 14 item screen that supports care planning and flags higher cardiac risk.

Start Online Test

Questions: 143 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

22,597 views

1,820 completions

1,440 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

17/28

Social Inhibition (SI)

Measures the tendency to feel restrained and avoid open emotional expression in social interactions.

Low inhibition

Elevated inhibition

0 – 9: Low inhibition | 10 – 28: Elevated inhibition

A score of 17 falls in the Elevated inhibition range, suggesting a stronger tendency toward social restraint and difficulty expressing emotions in interpersonal situations.

example score

12/28

Negative Affectivity (NA)

Measures how often a person experiences negative emotions such as anxiety, irritability, and low mood.

Low

Elevated

0 – 9: Low | 10 – 28: Elevated

A score of 12 falls in the Elevated range, suggesting a higher-than-average tendency toward negative emotional reactions under stress.

Start Online Test

just completed the test

DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Cardiac patients in recovery

41%OF USERS

People with heart conditions or recent cardiac events who want to understand stress reactivity and social withdrawal that can affect recovery.

Anxious or irritable adults

34%OF USERS

Adults who often feel worried, tense, or easily upset and want a quick check of their negative emotions and coping style.

Socially inhibited individuals

25%OF USERS

People who hold back in conversations, avoid attention, or feel insecure around others and want to clarify this pattern under stress.

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.

Social Inhibition (SI)

Average

17.4

Normal range

13.4 — 21.4

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.

Negative excitability (Ne)

Average

14.5

Normal range

11 — 18

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.

Start Online Test

Featured On

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

Below is a series of statements that people often use to describe themselves. Please read each statement and select the response that best applies. There are no right or wrong answers; only your opinion is important.

- False
- Rather false
- Not sure
- Rather true
- True
- False
- Mostly false
- Unsure
- Mostly true
- True
- False
- Rather false
- Not sure
- Rather true
- True

These are 3 of the 14 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

Start Online Test

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Type D Personality Scale (DS14) Test - Symptoms and Signs

type d behavior

This brief self-report measure is used to screen for a distressed personality profile characterized by elevated negative affectivity and social inhibition. The Type D Personality Scale (DS14) supports rapid assessment of these traits in clinical and research settings.

The questionnaire includes 14 items and typically takes about 3 minutes to complete. It was developed by Johan Denollet.

Scores from the Type D Personality Scale (DS14) may help identify individuals who report higher levels of distress and interpersonal restraint, which can be relevant to case formulation, treatment planning, and risk stratification in health psychology contexts. Interpretation should be integrated with clinical history and other assessment data rather than used as a standalone diagnostic indicator.

Author: Johan Denollet

Literature: Watson, D., & Clark, L. A. Negative affectivity: The disposition to experience aversive emotional states. Psychological Bulletin. 1984.; Denollet, J. DS14: Standard assessment of negative affectivity, social inhibition, and Type D personality. Psychosomatic Medicine. 2005.