Greed Test (DGS)
Seuntjens et al. 2015 · 7 items · how much do you want more?
How often do you feel "not enough"? And how long does satisfaction last after you get what you wanted? The DGS (Dispositional Greed Scale) uses 7 items to measure how strongly "wanting more" runs through your life — the same drive behind ambition and growth, and the same one that can keep you from ever feeling satisfied. About 2 minutes. A research scale, not a diagnostic tool.
How much do you want more?
The word "greed" lands with moral weight, but researchers treat it as a neutral fact: some people run a fast "want more" engine, others a slow one.
The DGS (Dispositional Greed Scale), developed by Seuntjens et al. (2015), uses just 7 items to measure this insatiable desire — not a single shopping impulse, but a stable disposition. Its development studies ran across 7,000+ participants and included real economic games: high-greed people kept more for themselves in dictator games, demanded more in ultimatum games, and took more in resource dilemmas.
In other words, this test predicts not just how you think, but how you actually split things.
What a high score means
Greed is double-edged in daily life. It fuels ambition — wanting better, more, further — the psychological fuel behind career drive and economic growth. But it also correlates negatively with life satisfaction and positively with materialism, envy, and impulsiveness. High-greed people often "don't enjoy what they got for long."
So a high score isn't a "bad person" stamp. Treat it like a gauge reading: your wanting-more engine runs hot, and it's worth knowing how to fit a brake.
Common misconceptions
"Greed = loving money" — not quite. The DGS measures "wanting more" itself; it can land on money, or on status, recognition, and experiences.
"Low score = no ambition" — also wrong. A low score only means you're not pushed around by "not enough." Ambition can come from elsewhere: curiosity, responsibility, caring about the work itself.
A note
The DGS is a research self-report scale. It is not a clinical diagnosis, and it makes no moral judgement on personality. If the chase is leaving you chronically tired, straining your relationships, or sliding into out-of-control spending, gambling, or hoarding, please seek professional help.
Result Interpretation
After completing the 7 questions, you'll receive an immediate, detailed report with:
- Your score — calculated automatically based on your responses
- Score interpretation — what your score means in practical terms
- Context — how your results compare to general population norms where available
All results are displayed on screen. No account or login needed.