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Personality
Szondi Test: what does your choice of faces say about you?
Our brain reacts to other people's faces unconsciously, reading in them what is hidden in ourselves. The famous portrait test by Leopold Szondi is built on this very principle. You will go through 6 series of 8 portraits each: in every series you pick the 2 faces you find most pleasant and the 2 most unpleasant. The pattern of your choices reveals the state of 8 basic drive factors. Take the Szondi test online and receive a detailed interpretation of your results with a clear chart, per-factor descriptions, and practical recommendations.
portraits
48
Time
5 min
Method
Szondi (1947)
Rating
4.7
![Szondi Test [with people's faces]: result interpretation](/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Ftests%2Fszondi%2Fall_szondi.webp%3Fv%3D2&w=1920&q=75)
What you'll learn
The current state of 8 basic drive factors in your personality
Which traits you readily accept in yourself and which you reject
Hidden conflicts between desires and social restrictions
The leading vector of your personality: feelings, emotions, thinking, or contact
Practical recommendations for relationships, career, and self-development
Key facts
1947
Created
Leopold Szondi
Author
5 min
Time
48
Portraits
History & development
1937
Leopold Szondi begins research on hereditary drives and formulates the concept of «genotropism».
1944
The book «Schicksalsanalyse», the foundation of Fate Analysis, is published.
1947
«Experimentelle Triebdiagnostik» is released, providing a methodical description of the portrait test.
1949
Susan Deri publishes an English-language analysis, bringing the method beyond Europe.
1969
The Szondi Institute opens in Zurich to advance depth psychology and Fate Analysis.
About the methodology
The Szondi test is one of the most influential projective methods of the 20th century. Leopold Szondi (1893 to 1986) discovered that the choice of pleasant and unpleasant faces on photographs is not random: it reflects the structure of drives we rarely recognise in ourselves.
The classic methodology uses 48 portraits grouped into 6 series of 8 faces. Every series contains one portrait per each of the 8 basic factors: tenderness (h), activity (s), ethics (e), expressiveness (hy), autonomy (k), openness to ideas (p), emotional depth (d), and sociability (m).
Liking or disliking a face indicates the current state of the corresponding factor. The method is used in depth psychology, psychodiagnostics, and Schicksalsanalyse (Fate Analysis), the discipline created by Szondi himself.
Scientific references
L. J. Borstelmann, W. G. Klopfer (1953)
Susan K. Deri (1949)
P. H. Mussen, S. R. Krauss (1952)
Szondi Institute Zurich (1969)
Frequently asked questions
What is the Szondi test?
The Szondi test is a projective method created by the Swiss psychiatrist Leopold Szondi in 1947. The participant looks at portraits and chooses pleasant and unpleasant faces. The pattern of choices reveals eight deep factors: tenderness, activity, ethics, expressiveness, autonomy, openness to ideas, emotional depth, and sociability.
How is the test structured and how long does it take?
The test has 6 series of 8 portraits each. In every series you make 4 choices: the 2 most pleasant and the 2 most unpleasant faces. That is 24 selections in total. It takes about 5 minutes.
How accurate are the results?
The Szondi test is a projective rather than a psychometric instrument. It does not provide a diagnosis and does not replace work with a specialist, but it offers a quick visual snapshot of the current state of your factors. Treat the result as a stimulus for self-reflection.
What is the principle behind choosing faces?
Szondi described «genotropism»: the unconscious choice of people and images that resonate with our own drives. A face that triggers strong sympathy or antipathy reflects the corresponding experience within us.
Can I take the test more than once?
Yes. The state of the factors changes under the influence of life events, mood, and context, so the results may differ. Taking the test regularly helps to track the dynamics and notice stable tendencies.
Instructions
You will see 6 series of 8 portraits each. In every series first pick the 2 faces you find most pleasant, then the 2 most unpleasant. Rely on your first immediate impression, do not try to analyse the features. Your spontaneous reaction to a face is the key that uncovers hidden motives. There are no right or wrong answers in this test.
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