Methodology
How our tests work
VivelaVita's tests are educational: original questions inspired by concepts used in sexology research. They don't diagnose anything and they are no substitute for professional advice.
What we measure
Your sexual map has eight dimensions. Each one goes from 0 to 100, but they aren't grades: they're positions. Neither 0 nor 100 is better.
| Dimension | What it describes | Inspired by |
|---|---|---|
| Accelerator | How easily something suggestive sparks your interest | Dual control model (excitation) |
| Sensitivity to brakes | How much pressure, worries or distractions lower your desire | Dual control model (inhibition) |
| Spontaneity | Whether desire tends to arrive before things start or after | Spontaneous and responsive desire |
| Sensitivity to context | How much the moment needs to line up | Context and contingency of arousal |
| Novelty seeking | Appetite for variety and the different | Sensation seeking; self-expansion |
| Curiosity | Interest in getting to know and discover your sexuality | Our own educational construct |
| Connection | How much closeness and intimacy matter to your desire | Intimacy; communal motivation |
| Initiative | Tendency to suggest things and take the first step | Sexual initiative and assertiveness |
We also collect specific facets —anticipation, routine, pressure, shared understanding…— which feed into “what turns you on and what holds you back”.
What we don't measure
- We don't assess dysfunctions, problems or “levels” of desire: there are no good or bad results.
- We don't ask about your sexual orientation, nor do we infer it.
- We don't measure sociosexuality (attitudes towards sex without commitment): it is very sensitive information that lends itself to judgement and isn't needed for anything we show you.
How results are calculated
- Each answer adds to or subtracts from one or more dimensions, with different weights. Many questions are phrased the other way round so that answering “yes” to everything doesn't push you to an extreme.
- Each dimension is placed between the minimum and maximum allowed by the questions you've answered, on a scale from 0 to 100.
- If a dimension has few questions, its value stays closer to the centre instead of jumping to an extreme. That's why your map marks each dimension as to discover, partly discovered or discovered.
- Your profile is compared with ten archetypes described by combinations of dimensions; the closest one is your archetype. If none stands out, your profile is “Mosaic”.
- The interpretations come from rules about specific combinations (for example, a lot of curiosity with not very spontaneous desire), not from a fixed text per archetype.
Before publishing the model we simulated it with thousands of profiles: the scores recover the simulated traits well, no archetype takes over the results, and changing one answer doesn't change the result abruptly.
Limitations
- The questions are original and have not been validated as a psychometric scale. That validation is only possible with real data, and we will do it once we have a large enough sample.
- The answers depend on how you see yourself; the result describes a tendency, not a fixed truth, and it may change over time and with circumstances.
- People who take a test in an erotic shop are not a representative sample of the population. That's why we don't show comparisons with “people in general” until we have enough data, and we will never present them as representative of any country.
Your privacy
We don’t ask for sign-up, your name or your email. The calculation is done on your own device and your map is saved only there; you can delete it whenever you like.
When you finish a test, your answers are stored 100% anonymously for the VivelaVita Observatory’s studies: only which option you chose for each question, the day (no time), the language and, if you choose to share them, your age range and how you identify. We don’t store IP addresses, cookies, names, emails or anything that could reveal who you are, and those answers can’t be linked to your purchases or to any account. If you’d rather they weren’t stored, tap “Don’t store my answers” before you start: the test works just the same.
Studies only publish aggregated data from large groups, never individual answers. What you share —the card or the couple link— carries your summarised result, never your answers.
Main references
- Bancroft, J. and Janssen, E. (2000). The dual control model of male sexual response. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 24(5), 571-579.
- Bancroft, J., Graham, C. A., Janssen, E. and Sanders, S. A. (2009). The dual control model: current status and future directions. Journal of Sex Research, 46(2-3), 121-142.
- Basson, R. (2000). The female sexual response: a different model. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 26(1), 51-65.
- Graham, C. A., Sanders, S. A. and Milhausen, R. R. (2006). The Sexual Excitation/Sexual Inhibition Inventory for Women. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 35(4), 397-409.
- Kalichman, S. C. and Rompa, D. (1995). Sexual sensation seeking and sexual compulsivity scales. Journal of Personality Assessment, 65(3), 586-601.
- Muise, A. et al. (2019). Broadening your horizons: self-expanding activities promote desire and satisfaction in established romantic relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 116(2), 237-258.
- Muise, A. and Impett, E. A. (2015). Good, giving, and game. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 6(2), 164-172.
- Mark, K. P. and Murray, S. H. (2012). Gender differences in desire discrepancy. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 38(2), 198-215.
- Meston, C. M. and Buss, D. M. (2007). Why humans have sex. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 36(4), 477-507.
- Nagoski, E. (2015). Come As You Are. Simon & Schuster (popular science).
- Zuckerman, M. (1994). Behavioral expressions and biosocial bases of sensation seeking. Cambridge University Press.
Educational test based on concepts used in sexology research. It is not a clinical assessment. If anything about your sex life worries you, a sexology professional can help.
