Transcendence
Connection to meaning, spirituality, gratitude, and hope beyond oneself.
✦ Peer-Reviewed & Research-Validated
Free Character Assessment — No Signup Required
CIVIC measures 8 character virtues — remember them as TIES + FAIT. Our forced-choice methodology overcomes self-report bias, a critical limitation of traditional assessments.
207Items
TIES+ FAIT
IRTScoring
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📚 Researchers: Download our scales free for your own studies
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TIES + FAIT
The Virtues
8 Character Virtues
Remember them as TIES (relational) and FAIT (active) — grounded in philosophical traditions and validated through rigorous research.
❤️ Relational Virtues TIES
Interpersonal Consideration
Caring for others, cooperation, and fostering social harmony.
Empathy
Understanding others' feelings, compassion, and kindness.
Sincerity
Authenticity, honesty, and integrity in relationships.
💪 Active Virtues FAIT
Fortitude
Courage, persistence, resilience, and bravery in adversity.
Appreciation
Recognizing value in life, savoring experiences, and gratitude.
Intellectual Engagement
Curiosity, love of learning, and open-mindedness.
Temperance
Self-control, prudence, humility, and moderation.
Methodological Innovation
Overcoming Self-Report Bias
Traditional assessments suffer from a critical flaw: people present themselves favorably. Our Multidimensional Forced Choice (MFC) methodology solves this problem.
By requiring choices between equally desirable options, we obtain more accurate, less fakeable measurements of true character.
Reduces Social Desirability Bias
Forced-choice format minimizes impression management.
IRT-Based Scoring
Item Response Theory provides precise trait estimates.
Peer-Reviewed Research
Validated with strong psychometric properties.
Free for Research
Both scales available at no cost for academic use.
For Researchers
Free Scales for Your Research
Rigorous measurement should be accessible to all. Download our validated scales at no cost for your studies.
CIVIC Scale (Likert)
207 items across 29 facets measuring 8 character virtues. The canonical Likert format — ideal when you need fine-grained facet-level scores.
View CIVIC Scale →MFC-CIVIC Scale
30 forced-choice blocks scored with Thurstonian IRT. Reduces social desirability bias. Best for high-stakes assessment.
View MFC-CIVIC Scale →Please cite our work when using these scales. See Resources for citation information.
This Research is Generously Supported By
We are grateful to the John Templeton Foundation for their generous support of this research on character virtues and human flourishing.
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