Schema Test: Relationship Schemas Quiz

IMPORTANT NOTE:

This free schema test is for informational purposes only and is not intended to function as a psychological or psychiatric assessment. These results are not designed to replace a clinical diagnosis. A diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder requires extensive evaluation by a trained professional. Online schema quizzes like this are meant for self-reflection and are not diagnostic tools.

What You’ll Get From Taking this Schema Test

After taking the schema test, you’ll receive a personalized breakdown of your results across 11 core maladaptive schemas—the deeply rooted beliefs that shape how you see yourself, others, and the world. These schemas act like a pair of tinted sunglasses, distorting your perception and creating self-fulfilling prophecies that keep you stuck in unhealthy emotional and relational patterns.

You’ll get an overall schema score (low, moderate, or high) and individual scores for each schema, along with clear explanations of:

• What each schema means

• How it shows up in your relationships

• What your score says about your current patterns

• What you can begin doing to heal these belief systems

This test is designed to help you make sense of long-standing emotional and behavioral patterns—so you can take meaningful steps toward healing and change.

Schema Test: Are Core Beliefs Distorting Your Relationships?

Do you keep falling into the same emotional traps—like people-pleasing, emotional avoidance, perfectionism, or fear of abandonment?

These aren’t personality flaws. They’re often symptoms of underlying schemas—deep beliefs formed in early life that tell you who you are, what you deserve, and how safe it is to trust others.

Our schema quiz is designed to uncover these internal narratives and show you how they’re impacting your thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and relationships.

What Are Schemas?

Schemas are core beliefs and emotional patterns that develop when your basic emotional needs—like safety, love, acceptance, and autonomy—are unmet. They’re like a pair of sunglasses you didn’t know you were wearing—distorting how you view the world, yourself, and your relationships.

And because they shape your reactions, choices, and expectations, they tend to create self-fulfilling prophecies. For example:

• If you believe people will hurt you (Mistrust schema), you may push others away or become hypervigilant—leading to disconnection.

• If you believe you’re not good enough (Defectiveness schema), you might settle for mistreatment—reinforcing the belief.

• If you feel others’ needs matter more than yours (Self-Sacrifice schema), you may neglect yourself and end up feeling resentful and invisible.

Schemas run in the background until you learn to recognize and challenge them.

The 11 Core Maladaptive Schemas

This relationship schema test measures the presence and intensity of the following 11 schemas:

1. Abandonment – Fear that loved ones will leave, reject, or disappear

2. Mistrust/Abuse – Expectation that others will lie, hurt, manipulate, or use you

3. Emotional Deprivation – Belief that your emotional needs will never truly be met

4. Defectiveness/Shame – Feeling fundamentally flawed, bad, or unlovable

5. Failure – Belief that you are incompetent or destined to fail

6. Dependence – Belief that you can’t manage daily responsibilities without help

7. Subjugation – Belief that your needs and opinions must be suppressed to avoid punishment or abandonment

8. Self-Sacrifice – Tendency to put others’ needs above your own at the expense of your well-being

9. Perfectionism/Unrelenting Standards – Feeling that you must always perform at the highest level to be accepted

10. Entitlement/Grandiosity – Belief that you are special, superior, or exempt from typical responsibilities or limits

11. Social Isolation/Alienation – Feeling fundamentally different, disconnected, or not belonging

Each schema influences how you think, feel, and act—especially in your relationships.

Understanding Your Schema Quiz Scores

Your results will include individual scores for each schema, categorized into three ranges:

• Low Score: This schema has little influence over your current thoughts, emotions, or behaviors. It may not be active or relevant in your current life.

• Moderate Score: This schema may show up in certain situations, especially during stress or conflict. It’s worth exploring and monitoring.

• High Score: This schema is strongly active and likely shaping key areas of your life, including your relationships, self-worth, and emotional well-being. Addressing it directly can be deeply transformative.

Each schema result will include descriptions of:

• What the belief sounds like inside your head

• How it impacts your romantic, platonic, and family relationships

• What triggers it

• How you tend to react when it’s activated

• Suggestions for healing

How Schemas Impact Your Relationships

Schemas are often invisible—but they drive the patterns you repeat over and over again in relationships. They impact:

• Who you’re attracted to

• How you respond to intimacy or vulnerability

• How you set (or fail to set) boundaries

• How you react to conflict, rejection, or disappointment

• Whether you assert yourself, shut down, or explode

For example:

• Emotional Deprivation may lead you to feel disconnected or unseen, even in loving relationships.

• Subjugation may cause you to stay silent in the face of mistreatment, fearing backlash.

• Perfectionism might drive you to overwork and never feel “enough,” leading to burnout or isolation.

• Entitlement may leave you feeling above others, while secretly fearing you won’t be accepted as you are.

• Abandonment may cause you to cling or sabotage relationships out of fear of being left.

Once you recognize these patterns, you can begin to respond differently.

Why Take a Relationship Schema Test Now?

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably sensed that something deeper is influencing your behavior. You might be:

• Exhausted from overthinking your relationships

• Confused about why you react so strongly in certain situations

• Tired of attracting the same kind of partners or friendships

• Ready to break free from lifelong emotional patterns

This test is designed to help you name what’s underneath all of that—and show you where to begin healing.

What Happens After the Relationship Schema Test?

After completing the quiz, you’ll receive:

• Your total schema score and individual scores for each of the 11 schemas

• Personalized descriptions of how each schema plays out in your relationships

• Insights into what these scores mean and where to start if you want to heal them

• Suggestions for self-reflection, emotional tools, and next steps

You can save or print your results, share them with your therapist, or use them as a guide for your own self-work.

What You Can Do to Begin Healing

Healing schemas is not about erasing the past—it’s about changing your relationship to the beliefs you carry. Healing often includes:

• Awareness – Learning to spot when a schema is activated

• Naming – Identifying the belief and emotional trigger behind your reaction

• Reframing – Challenging the schema and testing new, healthier interpretations

• Behavioral Change – Practicing new behaviors that contradict the schema

• Emotional Repair – Learning to self-soothe, reparent, and build internal safety

• Relationship Repair – Choosing healthier boundaries, partners, and communication styles

While therapy can accelerate this process, many people also begin healing through journaling, group work, inner child exercises, and mindfulness practices.

Why Choose Our Schema Test?

This schema quiz is grounded in the principles of Schema Therapy, a powerful and evidence-based approach to treating long-standing emotional and relational issues. It’s simple to use, clinically informed, and designed to give you clear, usable results.

Key Features:

• Measures the 11 most common maladaptive schemas

• Helps you understand your unique schema profile

• Focuses specifically on how schemas affect your relationships

• Offers meaningful next steps and tools for insight

• 100% free and designed by mental health professionals

Begin Your Healing Journey Today

You are not broken—you’re patterned. And those patterns can be changed.

Schemas may have shaped your past, but they don’t have to dictate your future. With awareness and intention, you can unlearn what no longer serves you—and build more connected, fulfilling relationships.

Start the schema test now and take the first step toward clarity, compassion, and change.

Take More Quizzes 

If you enjoyed discovering your love language, why not explore more quizzes to deepen your understanding of yourself and your relationships?

We offer various quizzes, including:

These quizzes can provide additional insights that help you navigate the complexities of your emotions and interactions. Our quizzes are designed to be fun and informative. You can print, share, or save your results for future reference, making it easy to revisit them whenever you need a refresher. Dive into our collection and discover new ways to strengthen your relationships and improve your communication skills