Take the free Short Almost Perfect Scale (SAPS-8), the research-validated 2-minute test for Standards and Discrepancy. Instant low / medium / high perfectionism score.
No signup needed — your result appears instantly.
SAPS is an 8-item questionnaire developed by Rice, Richardson, and Tueller (2014) that measures perfectionism through two subscales: Standards (how high your personal expectations are) and Discrepancy (how much distress you feel about not meeting them). It's a validated shortening of the longer Almost Perfect Scale-Revised, built for fast, accurate screening.
No. Research consistently shows that high Standards paired with low Discrepancy is closer to healthy ambition than to a problem, people in this pattern tend to be driven and quality-focused without the emotional toll. It's the Discrepancy component, the gap between your goals and how you feel you're doing, that's linked to anxiety, procrastination, and burnout.
Standards reflects your personal drive: how demanding the goals you set for yourself are. Discrepancy reflects distress: how frustrated or inadequate you feel when your performance falls short of those goals. Two people can have identical Standards scores and very different Discrepancy scores, which is why the test reports both separately rather than one blended number.
No. The SAPS-8 is a self-reflection research instrument, not a diagnostic tool for OCPD, anxiety, or any other clinical condition. A high score, especially on Discrepancy, is a signal worth paying attention to, not a label. If perfectionism is causing ongoing distress, a licensed mental health professional is the right next step.
This is a self-report screener for informational and self-reflection purposes only. It is NOT a clinical diagnosis and does not replace professional assessment. If you are concerned about your mental health, please speak with a licensed clinician.
Take the free Short Almost Perfect Scale (SAPS-8), the research-validated 2-minute test for Standards and Discrepancy. Instant low / medium / high perfectionism score.
The Short Almost Perfect Scale (SAPS) is an 8-item self-report instrument that measures perfectionism across two distinct dimensions: Standards (the personal, often demanding, goals you set for yourself) and Discrepancy (the distress you feel when your performance doesn't match those goals). It was developed by Kenneth Rice and colleagues in 2014 as a fast, research-grade shortening of the longer Almost Perfect Scale-Revised.
Perfectionism research consistently finds that these two components behave very differently. High Standards alone, without much Discrepancy, tends to look like healthy ambition and drive. It's a high Discrepancy score, the perceived gap between what you expect of yourself and what you feel you're delivering, that the research links to anxiety, procrastination, and burnout.
JobCannon's Perfectionism test is a faithful implementation of the public SAPS-8 item set, scored on the standard 1-7 Likert range with the same Standards/Discrepancy split used in the source literature. Your results include an overall low / medium / high band plus a breakdown of both subscales, so you can see whether your perfectionism is running adaptive or is tipping into the distress zone.
Your overall perfectionism score on the standard 0-100% SAPS-8 scale
Your Standards subscale, how demanding your personal goals actually are
Your Discrepancy subscale, the gap between those goals and how you feel you're performing
Whether your pattern reads as adaptive drive or distress-linked perfectionism
Practical ways to close the Discrepancy gap without lowering your Standards
8 questions, 2 min. Auto-advance — no manual Next.
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Take the free Short Almost Perfect Scale (SAPS-8), the research-validated 2-minute test for Standards and Discrepancy. Instant low / medium / high perfectionism score.
No signup needed — your result appears instantly.
SAPS is an 8-item questionnaire developed by Rice, Richardson, and Tueller (2014) that measures perfectionism through two subscales: Standards (how high your personal expectations are) and Discrepancy (how much distress you feel about not meeting them). It's a validated shortening of the longer Almost Perfect Scale-Revised, built for fast, accurate screening.
No. Research consistently shows that high Standards paired with low Discrepancy is closer to healthy ambition than to a problem, people in this pattern tend to be driven and quality-focused without the emotional toll. It's the Discrepancy component, the gap between your goals and how you feel you're doing, that's linked to anxiety, procrastination, and burnout.
Standards reflects your personal drive: how demanding the goals you set for yourself are. Discrepancy reflects distress: how frustrated or inadequate you feel when your performance falls short of those goals. Two people can have identical Standards scores and very different Discrepancy scores, which is why the test reports both separately rather than one blended number.
No. The SAPS-8 is a self-reflection research instrument, not a diagnostic tool for OCPD, anxiety, or any other clinical condition. A high score, especially on Discrepancy, is a signal worth paying attention to, not a label. If perfectionism is causing ongoing distress, a licensed mental health professional is the right next step.
