About the test
Anger test
Twenty-seven statements from four public research scales show how you describe your own anger, from how quickly it starts to whether it reaches other people.
Questionnaire / instrument: CAT-PD Anger Scales
The test at a glance
- Price
- Free, including results
- Registration
- No account required
- Length
- 27 statements
- Time
- About 4 minutes
- Format
- Self-report · five response options
- Your report
- Overall score, pattern and four parts
The four parts
The first two parts are about what happens inside you. The last two are about what reaches others:
Quick to anger
How easily you get irritated or angry, and how strong it feels.
Emotions taking over
How much your moods shift, and whether you lose control when you are emotional.
Hostility
Wanting to hurt others or get back at them, in words or actions.
Sharp tongue
Insulting or mocking people, and saying things that go too far.
What your results show
Your report is available straight after the last statement. You can preview an example before starting.
- An overall score from 0 to 100 and what it means.
- A pattern that compares how easily you get angry with how much of it reaches others.
- Your score on each of the four parts, with tips that fit your result.
What does it measure?
How you describe your own anger, as one score and on four sides: how easily you get angry, how far your feelings take over, hostility towards others, and a sharp tongue.
Where does it come from?
The 27 statements come from four scales in the CAT-PD static form, by Simms and colleagues, published through IPIP: Anger, Affective Lability, Hostile Aggression and Rudeness. The CAT-PD was made to study personality traits that can cause problems in everyday life. The names of the parts are our own.
How is the result calculated?
Answers are scored from 1 to 5, with negatively worded statements reversed, and shown as a score from 0 to 100. The labels lower, middle and higher only describe where your answers fall on the answer scale. The report also compares how easily you get angry with how much of it reaches others.
What can the result tell you?
This is a self-report, so it shows how you see yourself, and few people agree with the most serious statements. The scores have no norms here, so the test cannot show how you compare with others. It is not a clinical test and cannot predict what you will do.
Languages and adaptations
English follows the IPIP statements. About half of the translated statements come from our other tests, and the rest are our own AI-assisted translations. They have not been independently validated. Our explanations and result commentary are written for this website.
Frequently asked questions
Is anger bad?
No. Anger is a normal feeling, and it often shows that a limit has been crossed. Problems usually come from how often it takes over, and what you do with it.
What is the difference between anger and aggression?
Anger is a feeling, while aggression is behaviour meant to hurt. You can be furious without hurting anyone, and people can hurt others without being angry. That is why the test looks at both.
Can this test show that I have an anger problem?
No. It shows how you describe yourself, on scales without norms. If your anger affects your relationships, your work or your safety, a doctor or psychologist can assess it properly.
Why are some statements so strong?
The scales were made to capture the serious end of these traits as well, so some statements are blunt. Most people disagree with them, and answering honestly gives the most useful result.
Can you learn to control anger?
Many people can get better at it, for example by calming down before they react and planning for common triggers. The test cannot show how much you can change.
Are my answers anonymous?
Answers are stored without your name or contact details, and you can delete your result later.
License and reuse
Public domainIPIP places its items and scales in the public domain. They may be used, copied, adapted and translated for commercial and non-commercial purposes without a fee or separate permission.
The terms below apply to the test materials. Articles, translations, software and our result descriptions may have separate terms.
Sources and further reading
Simms, L. J., Goldberg, L. R., Roberts, J. E., Watson, D., Welte, J., & Rotterman, J. H. (2011). Computerized adaptive assessment of personality disorder: Introducing the CAT–PD project. Journal of Personality Assessment, 93(4), 380–389. Static form v1.1, IPIP: https://ipip.ori.org/newCAT-PD-SFv1.1Keys.htm