What the egogram test measures
An egogram is a bar chart of five ego states: the five voices that take turns running your side of a conversation. The model comes from Dr. Jack Dusay, who in 1972 turned Eric Berne's Transactional Analysis into something you could draw: not which type you are, but how much of your energy sits in each state.
- Critical Parent (CP): sets the standard, and judges against it.
- Nurturing Parent (NP): looks after people, reassures, protects.
- Adult (A): checks the facts and weighs what is actually happening.
- Free Child (FC): plays, wants things, says what it feels.
- Adapted Child (AC): fits in, apologises, keeps the peace.
Nobody has a correct egogram, and there isn't one to have. A loud Critical Parent is the voice that holds a standard; a quiet one is a standard nobody is holding. What the chart is useful for is the trade: what each voice is good at, and what it costs you in the conversations that keep ending the same way.
This test is 15 questions and takes about three minutes. Your egogram appears as soon as you finish, with a read of all five voices. It is a self-awareness tool, not a clinical diagnosis.
Common questions
- What is an egogram?
- An egogram is a bar chart of five ego states: Critical Parent, Nurturing Parent, Adult, Free Child and Adapted Child. It shows the relative strength of each, so the shape of the chart matters more than any single bar.
- How long does the egogram test take?
- About three minutes. There are 15 questions: 7 everyday scenes where you pick the reply that sounds most like you, and 8 statements you agree or disagree with.
- Is this egogram test free?
- Yes. The 15 questions, your egogram and the read of all five voices are free, and you do not need an account to see your result.
- Is an egogram the same as a personality type?
- No. A type sorts you into a box and keeps you there. An egogram measures where your energy sits at the moment you take it, and that balance shifts as you practise. That is the point of measuring it.
- Who created the egogram?
- Dr. Jack Dusay, in 1972, as a visual extension of Eric Berne's Transactional Analysis. Berne described the ego states; Dusay's contribution was charting how much energy sits in each one.
New to the framework? What ego states are explains the five in full, and the introduction to Transactional Analysis covers the framework they belong to. You need neither to take the test.