Do you ask yourself, “Am I mean?” This 20-question analytical quiz exposes your dark side and discovers if you’re a cruel person. Ready to face the truth?
Who Is a Mean Person?
If you are unkind to others, intended to be hurtful, or motivated by cruelty, you are a mean person. Being mean is a personality trait that revolves around vindictiveness, pathological lying, and manipulation.
Actual heatless people usually don’t ask questions like, “Am I a bad person?” So, the fact that you’re questioning your behavior is a good sign. However, the only way to make sure you’re malicious is to take the test.
An Unbiased Quiz to Answer, “Am I Mean?”
The questionnaire consists of twenty questions about your personality, traits, beliefs, and experiences. The goal is to evaluate the spitefulness of your character. And the results inform you of how bad of a person you might be—or vice versa. Here’s what you learn by participating.
See if you’re a mean person.
Your big question is, “Am I mean?” So, that’s going to be the first thing you learn. The test analyzes your responses carefully, matching them to our database. It helps us give you a score that eventually determines how cruel you are. Note that you won’t know your score, and that’s private information. But you’ll see the overall deduction of the quiz.
Get to know why you might seem mean.
For many participants, the primary question is, “Why am I unintentionally mean?” That’s why we have a dedicated section in the results to explain the possible reasons behind your behavior pattern. It’s challenging to spot the exact reason for a person’s characteristics or beliefs. But your responses provide us with enough information to have some reliable guesses.
Find out what type of malicious person you are.
You might be worried about how others interpret your behavior. And that’s why you’re googling things like, “Am I mean?” But a yes or no answer wouldn’t be that accurate because people have different patterns of being cruel or malicious. For that reason, our Meanness Quiz divides the heartless participants into two groups.
- The temporary mean person might be rude, inconsiderate, or aggressive for a short period. Such people usually flip out when things go wrong and are otherwise regular persons.
- A permanent mean is pathologically cruel to everyone. Such a person would go out of their way to hurt, humiliate, or manipulate others for the sake of fun.
Receive a personality analysis.
Your responses reveal so many things about your true self. So, we wanted to offer something more than a simple yes or no result. You can read a comprehensive analytical description of the type of person you are right after finishing the questionnaire.
How to Know if You’re Mean without Taking a Quiz?
People who wonder if they’re malicious might not be willing to face it through an online quiz. And it’s understandable. But there are obvious signs or red flags that could look for to self-evaluate your character regardless. See below.
#1. You’re rude to people.
Rudeness is one of the apparent signs of being mean. Not every rude person is intentionally cruel. But there are only so much understandable reasons for being impolite and inconsiderate. Usually, the mean person hides their insolence behind excuses. For example, they might claim to be “frank” rather than disrespectful.
#2. You’re never wrong.
Before asking, “Am I mean?” ask yourself, “Do I accept it when I’m wrong?” If you can recall very few instances where you were wrong and accepted it, you might be cruel. Unkind people find it challenging to see their mistakes. They prefer to blame others and play the victim all the time.
#3. You’re vindictive.
The biggest red flag is enjoying others’ pain, misery, or failure. If you happen to feel good when someone you know is going through a hard time, don’t even bother to ask, “Am I mean?” The answer is a huge YES.
#4. You lie about everything.
Do you have so many excuses to lie to your friends and family? If yes, you’re mean. Honesty is like holy water that scares any heartless, cruel person. Yes, we all lie about various things in our lives. But too many lies are an indication of something unpleasant.
#5. You manipulate and control others.
Being abusive and manipulative are common aspects of having a mean personality type. If you tend to control, misuse, or mistreat others, you don’t need to take the test. The result is already apparent.
#6. You’re mean to animals.
Animal cruelty is unacceptable. If you treat other creatures poorly or hurt them intentionally, you’re mean.
Reasons Why You Might be Mean
You may ask yourself, “Why am I so mean to people I love?” or things like that. And we promised to give you some hints on that in the test results. But here are some of the primary reasons why you turn into a cruel person and hurt your loved ones’ feelings—although you don’t mean to (pun intended).
Anger issues.
Being mean could be a byproduct of your anger issues. It’s common for inconsiderate and impolite people to be passive-aggressive. They tend to express their unpleasant emotions through hurtful words and unaccepted behaviors.
Traumas.
Being bullied, emotionally abused, or manipulated during childhood or even adulthood can make you a mean person. Traumas can affect your behaviors significantly, justifying your wrong deeds and encouraging them.
Mean parents.
One way to answer a question like, “Am I mean?” is to think about your parents. Are they cruel, rude, inconsiderate, or vindictive? If yes, chances are you’ve been imitating them your whole life—because that’s what kids do.
Insecurity.
The real question might be, “Am I insecure?” rather than “Am I a bad person?” Your insecurities can lead you to hurt others’ feelings and be unempathetic towards them. Such traits help you forget unpleasant emotions and focus on others’ imperfections instead.
Personality disorder(s).
Things like narcissistic personality disorder can make you a cruel person. Such conditions lead to becoming self-absorbed and numb to others’ feelings. And eventually, you turn into a malicious individual who cares about nothing but themselves.
Problem with expressing emotions.
Another reason you are mean might be the way you express your emotions. People who have a problem talking about their feelings choose passive methods to show them. That’s one of the most destructive things in a relationship because every time you have an intense emotion, you choose the wrong way to express it. So, you may always feel like you’re the victim.
What to Do if the Test Says You’re Mean?
Consult a therapist. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is the best way of dealing with your negative emotions. A therapist can help you find the root of your problems, understand them, and let go of them if that’s what you want. Here are some other options to try if you don’t like therapy:
- Apologize when you’re wrong.
- Don’t control or manipulate people.
- Don’t be judgmental.
- Express your emotion through words, not aggression.
- Don’t lie, no matter the reason.
- Stop finding excuses for being rude.
Disclaimer: Read Before Taking the Meanness Quiz
The quiz on this page is designed to help those who ask, “Am I mean?” It’s not meant to label you or judge your characteristics. So, please, take the results lightly and let us know if anything about them bothered you. We respond to all the comments and emails as fast as possible.
How to Play?
Playing personality quizzes is straightforward: Choose the option that’s true about you—or you relate to—and select “Next.” Unlike trivia quizzes, personality tests have no right or wrong answers. But the questions are in forced-choice format. The point is to push you to choose an option that makes the most sense, not the one that’s 100% true. For the most accurate results, don’t overthink your responses. Go with options that you “feel” are the best.
Questions of the quiz
- 1How do you define being rude?
Being inconsiderate and ignorant
Doing things that you shouldn't
Not following stupid social rules
There's no such thing as being rude
- 2Who do you consider to be a frank person and admire?
One who tells the truth
One who tries not to lie
One who speaks their mind
One with no filters
- 3Which one makes you an inconsiderate person?
Not caring for what others feel
Forgetting about social norms
Being who you are around others
Not letting people do whatever they want
- 4How often do you lie? (Ironically, you have to be super-honest about this one).
Rarely or never
I lie when I have to
When there's a gain in it
All the time. It's fun
- 5What might cause you to lie to your friends or family?
Nothing
Saving their lives or something
Getting rid of them
Anything. I lie to them all the time.
- 6Which one sounds like a good excuse for hiding the truth from your loved ones?
Helping them feel better
Reducing their stress/anxiety
Messing with them or pranking them
Revenge!
- 7What do you think about faking emotions? Is it okay to have or express them?
No. you should never fake emotions
You're better off without them
Fake emotions are inevitable
I need fake emotions to function
- 8How often do you say nice things about people that you actually hate or dislike?
Rarely or never.
I try not to do that.
Most of the time. I try to be polite.
All the time. I'm pro at that.
- 9What do you feel when someone goes through a hard time or fails at a certain task?
I feel bad
It depends on the person
I feel numb and indifferent
I usually feel good and motivated
- 10Do you think it's okay to feel good when someone you know is miserable?
Not at all
I don't think so
Um, it depends
Yes, it's totally fine
- 11Do you usually regret your mistakes?
Yes, all the time.
I usually do.
Not really.
Nope. I don't regret anything.
- 12How do you feel when you hurt someone's feelings?
I feel horribly bad
It makes me mad at myself
I usually feel numb and indifferent
I feel fine and slightly satisfied
- 13How easy is it for you to apologize and acknowledge your mistake?
Fairly easy. I apologize right away.
It changes depending on the person.
I often avoid apologizing because it's meaningless.
I don't apologize to no one.
- 14Do you think it's okay to manipulate people and misuse them to achieve something in life?
NO! That sounds disgusting.
I don't think so,
Maybe. Sometimes you have to do so.
Yes. It's a fun way to achieve your goals.
- 15What do you do when someone refuses to help you or do what you asked them to do?
I thank them anyway.
I try to understand it and move on.
I don't talk to that person for a while.
I remove that person from my life.
- 16What do you think about pets? Do you like them?
I LOVE them
I like them
I don't really like them
I HATE them
- 17Which one describes the way your parents treated you as a child?
With kindness and love
With rules and discipline
With ignorance and indifference
With anger and hate
- 18On a scale of 0 to 5, how insecure are you? (5 means I'm very insecure).
0-1
2-3
4
5
- 19Which one describes the way you express your anger?
I talk about it
It depends on the situation
I don't say anything about it
I yell and scream
- 20Final question; how would you feel if you roasted and destroyed someone?
Awful and guilty
Sad and regretful
Happy and fine
Victorious and proud
