Free Optimism Test
This test scores how optimistic or pessimistic you tend to be, your general expectation of whether things will go well or not.
Answer each statement on a 5-point scale, from strongly disagree to strongly agree. There's no right answer, just react honestly.
This is a personality-trait measure, not a mood tracker or a clinical screening tool, a bad week won't move your score much on its own.
No sign-up. No email. Results in your browser.
What This Optimism Test Measures
You'll get one score reflecting dispositional optimism: how much you generally expect good outcomes versus bad ones, across situations, not just how you feel today.
This is the same trait measured by the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R), one of the most cited optimism scales in psychology research.
How It Works (10 questions, 3 minutes)
Answer 10 short statements about yourself on a 5-point scale. One question per screen, with a progress bar so you always know how far you are.
This uses the full published scale length, 10 items, rather than padding it out to match other sites' fixed question counts.
What Your Results Include
A 0-100 score, which of three bands you land in (lower, moderate, or higher optimism), a plain-language explanation of what that means, and a shareable link, no account needed to save or revisit it.
Your result also links back to the other tests on this site if you want a fuller picture alongside your Big Five or Enneagram profile.
The Science Behind This Test
These 10 items come from the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP), a public-domain item bank, specifically their proxy of Scheier, Carver & Bridges' Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R, 1994). Read more on our Methodology page. Read the full methodology
We use IPIP's openly licensed proxy items rather than the original LOT-R wording, which is copyrighted and not confirmed free for a commercial site to use, the same approach already used for our Self-Esteem and Locus of Control tests.
Treat your result as a reflection of your general outlook, not a prediction, expectations can and do shift with circumstances, self-awareness, and time.
FAQ
Is this optimism test really free?
Yes. Every question and your full results are free, with no sign-up or email required.
What instrument is this based on?
The International Personality Item Pool's public-domain proxy of the LOT-R (Scheier, Carver & Bridges, 1994), one of the most widely cited optimism scales in psychology research.
Is this a mental health screening tool?
No. It measures a general personality trait, dispositional optimism, not depression, anxiety, or any clinical condition. If you're concerned about your mental health, talk to a professional rather than relying on this score.
Why only 10 questions?
That's the full length of the published scale this test is based on. We didn't pad it out to match the ~20-question format some other sites use for every trait regardless of the source instrument.
How long does this test take?
Most people finish in about 3 minutes.
Can my score change if I retake the test?
Yes, your answers can shift with mood, recent events, and self-awareness, especially for scores close to a band boundary.
Is optimism something I can change?
Research on optimism suggests it isn't fixed, deliberate practices like reframing setbacks can shift it over time, though this test only measures where you are right now.
Do you sell or share my answers?
No. Your answers are scored entirely in your browser and are never sent to a server, so there is nothing about your responses for us to sell or share.