The Relationship Satisfaction Test was developed in the 1980s by a Texas psychologist, and is easy to take because it only has seven questions.
But don’t be fooled: Each one requires a lot of thought. Do not rush. For the following questions, circle the number that best rates how you feel about your relationship. See scoring, at bottom.
circle the number that best rates how you feel about your relationship. See scoring, at bottom.
1. How well does your partner meet your needs?
| Poorly | Average | Extremely Well | ||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
2. In general, how satisfied are you with your relationship?
| Dissatisfied | Average | Extremely Satisfied | ||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
3. How good is your relationship compared to most?
| Poor | Average | Excellent | ||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
4. How often do you wish you hadn’t gotten in this relationship?
| Very Often | Sometimes | Never | ||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
5. To what extent has your relationship met your original expectations?
| Hardly At All | Average | Completely | ||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
6. How much do you love your partner?
| Not Much | Average | Very Much | ||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
7. How many problems are there in your relationship?
| Very Many | Average | Very Few | ||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Scoring
Add up the numbers you circled.
If your score was 7-25: Your relationship is no Cinderella story. Seventy percent or more of the population are happier in their relationships than you are. If you have invested a great deal of time into your relationship and wish to continue with this person, you must focus on building consensus and openly discussing your needs and expectations with your partner.
If your score was 26-32: Your relationship is about as charmed as that of most American couples’. You and your partner probably have the ordinary ups and downs, but in general you are quite satisfied. There is, however, room for improvement. Review your scores together for clues on which areas need enhancement. Get these issues out into the open, and chances are you and your partner will be able to work things out and obtain greater satisfaction.
If your score was 33-35: You are exceptionally satisfied in your relationship, and scored in the top 30th percentile of all couples. Congratulations on having built a gratifying partnership. While you have all the ingredients for a blissful relationship, be careful about becoming complacent.
Copyright © 2004 Andrew N. Williams
Excerpted by permission from How Do You Compare? 12 Simple Tests to Discover Hidden Truths About Your Personality — And Fascinating Facts About Everyone Else by Andrew N. Williams Published by Perigee; March 2004; $13.95US/$21.00CAN; 0-399-52951-9.
Are you Satisfactory? Average? Extraordinary? How Do You Compare? features scientifically devised personality tests designed by professional psychologists to help you evaluate who you are — and where you stand compared to the rest of the world. Free of professional jargon, each brief test is a fun way to analyze and better understand yourself. Getting your results is only half the fun — you can also see how you stack up against thousands of others. And, if your test results aren’t satisfactory, helpful hints for self-improvement are scattered throughout every chapter. Discover yourself through self-tests in:
Intelligence
Creativity
Relationships
Love
Sex
Happiness
Mood
Motivation
Author: Andrew N. Williams is a nationally known experimental psychologist with more than twenty years of experience conducting research studies for academic, government, and private research firms, and has overseen the administration of interviews to over half a million people. He has written dozens of technical reports, authored journal articles, edited a newsletter, and regularly presents papers at international conferences.