Every test uses open, published content, and the scoring has been checked against real data from thousands of people.
Our principles
- Published instruments: we only use peer-reviewed questions and norms that anyone can check.
- Visible margin of error: every ability score comes with its 95% interval.
- Fair comparison: we compare you with people your age and, where there is enough data, your country.
- Privacy by design: your result is worked out in your browser and we never ask for your name or email.
- No diagnoses: we explain when a professional assessment makes sense.
How we calculate your score
In ability tests every question has a known difficulty. From your answers we estimate your level with item response theory, work out its standard error and convert it to the IQ scale (mean 100, standard deviation 15). The 95% interval is your score plus and minus 1.96 standard errors.
In questionnaires we add up your answers on each scale and compare the total with the reference sample to get your percentile.
The instruments, one by one
The science behind each test
| Test | Instrument | Authors | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| IQ test | Open Matrices Item Bank with item response theory | Koch et al. (2022) | Adults by age, mean 100 |
| Memory test | Digit span and Corsi blocks | Monaco et al. (2013) | Age norms |
| Personality test (Big Five) | IPIP Big-Five factor markers | Goldberg (1992) | 590,000 people, by country |
| Emotional intelligence test | IPIP emotional intelligence scales | Barchard (2001) | Eugene-Springfield Community Sample |
| Career interest test | Public-domain RIASEC markers | Armstrong, Allison and Rounds (2008) | 131,000 people |
How we check the tests
Before publishing, our code re-scores thousands of real people from the open datasets and we check the results match the published ones. We also verify the ability-test scoring against a reference implementation in Python, with differences below a thousandth of a point.
How we write the guides
Every guide is written from scientific sources, cited at the end, and shows the date it was last reviewed. We avoid unsourced figures and say so when research is not conclusive.
IQ and gifted tests
The matrices come from the Open Matrices Item Bank (Koch et al., 2022; GPLv3), calibrated with item response theory. IQ is estimated with Warm’s method (WLE) with a 95% interval and compared with your age. The current norms are provisional and international.
Personality, introversion, emotional intelligence and careers
The questionnaires come from the public-domain International Personality Item Pool: Goldberg’s 50 Big-Five markers (1992) and Barchard’s scales (2001). The career test uses the public-domain RIASEC markers. Percentiles come from Open Psychometrics open data (over 590,000 people for personality and 131,000 for interests) and from the Eugene-Springfield Community Sample.
Occupations
This site includes information from the O*NET 30.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. We have modified all or some of this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Memory
Forward and backward digit span and Corsi blocks, with the age norms of Monaco, Costa, Caltagirone and Carlesimo (2013).
Limitations
These are unsupervised online tests for guidance only. They are not a clinical or psychological diagnosis.
Frequently asked questions
Are Animi tests valid?
They use instruments with published validity and reliability. Taken online without supervision, results are for guidance.
Why not give an exact IQ?
Because no IQ measurement is exact. The interval tells you where your true IQ lies with 95% probability.
Sources
- Koch, M., Spinath, F. M., Greiff, S. & Becker, N. (2022). Development and validation of the Open Matrices Item Bank. Journal of Intelligence, 10(3), 41.
- Goldberg, L. R. (1992). The development of markers for the Big-Five factor structure. Psychological Assessment, 4(1), 26–42.
- Barchard, K. A. (2001). Emotional and social intelligence: Examining its place in the nomological network. Doctoral dissertation, University of British Columbia.
- Armstrong, P. I., Allison, W. & Rounds, J. (2008). Development and initial validation of brief public domain RIASEC marker scales. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 73(2), 287–299.
- Monaco, M., Costa, A., Caltagirone, C. & Carlesimo, G. A. (2013). Forward and backward span for verbal and visuo-spatial data. Neurological Sciences, 34(5), 749–754.