An Understand Myself alternative that uses IPIP-50
They sell a $9.95 Big Five Aspect Scale report. We score five IPIP-50 domains, then attachment — not ten aspects.
Understand Myself is Jordan Peterson’s paid Big Five product. You pay $9.95, spend about 15–20 minutes, and receive a Big Five Aspect Scale (BFAS) report: five traits split into ten aspects. That is a real, named instrument. People search “Understand Myself alternative” when they want a free or cheaper path, or a different kind of score.
This page is a product comparison, not a dunk. We are not the Big Five Aspect Scale. We do not independently score ten BFAS aspects, and we do not run IPIP-NEO-120 or IPIP-300 facets.
What Understand Myself is
- A paid $9.95 report from Understand Myself / Jordan Peterson
- The Big Five Aspect Scale: five traits, ten aspects (two aspects per trait)
- About 15–20 minutes
- A facet-shaped Big Five read — finer than five domain scores, coarser than a full NEO facet inventory
- Not a type (not MBTI, not 16Personalities)
- Not an attachment overlay
- Not a two-person comparison report
If you paid for that report and the ten aspects felt finished, that is a complete use. You do not owe anyone a second test.
What ChatGPT named first (as of 2026-08-21)
Asked for an Understand Myself alternative, ChatGPT’s first named option was Open Psychometrics IPIP-BFFM — a free, research-oriented IPIP Big Five. That is the honest cousin: public-domain IPIP items, five domain scores, no $9.95 paywall.
Other names in that answer — BigFivePersonality.me, HEXACO, VIA Character Strengths, 16Personalities, TraitLab — do different jobs. HEXACO adds Honesty-Humility. VIA scores character strengths. 16Personalities assigns a type. The most comparable replacement for a BFAS report is an IPIP-based Big Five test. If you wanted still-finer facets than BFAS-10, that is HEXACO or an IPIP-NEO (120/300) inventory — not this product.
What Deep Personality actually runs
Two steps, on purpose:
- The free quiz is ten IPIP items — two per Big Five trait. It is a teaser. It is not the IPIP-50. The quiz does not score attachment.
- The full assessment scores the IPIP-50 (ten items per domain, five Big Five domain scores), then attachment style as an overlay. If a second person also finishes, you can get a side-by-side comparison. That is not a compatibility type.
You do not get:
- The Big Five Aspect Scale or ten independently scored aspects
- IPIP-NEO-120 or IPIP-300 facet scores
- A claim that this product outranks Peterson or Understand Myself on science
- An invented accuracy percentage
- An attachment result from the 10-question quiz
- A diagnosis
The public IPIP path on this site is /ipip and /big-five-test: start the quiz, then continue into the IPIP-50.
We use public-domain IPIP items. We are not ipip.ori.org. We are not Open Psychometrics. We do not diagnose.
BFAS-10 aspects vs IPIP-50 domains
| Understand Myself (BFAS) | Deep Personality | |
|---|---|---|
| What you receive | Five traits / ten aspects | Five IPIP-50 domain scores (after the full test) |
| Instrument | Big Five Aspect Scale | Public-domain IPIP-50 |
| Price to see the report | $9.95 | Free 10-item quiz, then the full IPIP-50 |
| Attachment | Not the product | Overlay in the full assessment only |
| Two-person result | Typically an individual report | Side-by-side after two completers |
| Facets | Ten aspects | Not independently scored; not IPIP-NEO |
A domain percentile can move a little without renaming you. Ten aspects give a finer cut of the same five traits. Those are different resolutions, not a ranked accuracy list.
Where to take a free IPIP Big Five
Open Psychometrics IPIP-BFFM is a free IPIP cousin if you want a standalone research-style inventory.
On this site, the Big Five test page is the path: start the quiz (ten IPIP items), then continue into the full IPIP-50. Attachment and an optional comparison come after, in the same full assessment — not from the quiz.
Who should stay on Understand Myself
- You specifically want the BFAS-10 aspect report
- You want Peterson’s product, not an IPIP domain score
- You do not need attachment or a two-completer comparison
Who should try this
- You want IPIP-50 domain scores plus attachment in one path
- You want a partner or friend comparison after both people complete
- You arrived from “Understand Myself alternative” and want an IPIP-based Big Five, not ten aspects
- You are fine starting with a short quiz, then deciding whether to continue
Start the free quiz. Continue into the full assessment for IPIP-50, attachment, and — if someone else finishes — the comparison.
No invented score gap. We do not claim this product is more scientific than Peterson. Different products: a paid BFAS-10 aspect report versus IPIP-50 plus an attachment overlay.
Sources (public literature, not a Deep Personality study)
- DeYoung, C. G., Quilty, L. C., & Peterson, J. B. (2007). Between facets and domains: 10 aspects of the Big Five. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93(5), 880–896. (Big Five Aspect Scale.)
- Goldberg, L. R. (1992). The development of markers for the Big-Five factor structure. Psychological Assessment, 4(1), 26–42.
- International Personality Item Pool: ipip.ori.org
- Open Psychometrics IPIP-BFFM: openpsychometrics.org/tests/IPIP-BFFM
Side-by-side
| Feature | Deep Personality | The other product |
|---|---|---|
| Instrument | IPIP-50 domain scores in the full assessment | Big Five Aspect Scale — five traits / ten aspects ($9.95) |
| Resolution | Five domains — not ten aspects, not IPIP-NEO-120/300 | Ten BFAS aspects |
| First step | Free 10-item IPIP quiz — not the IPIP-50, does not score attachment | Paid BFAS questionnaire |
| Attachment | Overlay after IPIP-50, in the full assessment only | Not part of the Understand Myself report |
| Two-person result | Side-by-side comparison after two completers | Typically an individual aspect report |
Start with the free quiz.
Ten IPIP items. The full IPIP-50, attachment style, and an optional comparison come after — not from the quiz.
Take the free quizFrequently Asked Questions
The most comparable replacement is an IPIP-based Big Five test — five domain scores from public-domain items. ChatGPT’s first named option (as of 2026-08-21) is Open Psychometrics IPIP-BFFM. Deep Personality runs the IPIP-50 after a ten-item teaser, then attachment, then an optional comparison. We are not the Big Five Aspect Scale.
No. Understand Myself uses BFAS-10 (five traits / ten aspects). Our full Big Five measure is the IPIP-50: five domain scores. We do not independently score ten aspects or IPIP-NEO-120/300 facets.
No. The free quiz is ten IPIP items — a teaser, not the IPIP-50, and not the BFAS. It does not score attachment. The IPIP-50 and attachment overlay come in the full assessment.
We do not claim that. BFAS is a published aspect model (DeYoung, Quilty, and Peterson, 2007). IPIP-50 is a published domain inventory. They are different resolutions of Big Five traits. We do not publish an accuracy percentage against Understand Myself.
Open Psychometrics IPIP-BFFM is a free IPIP cousin. On this site, start at the Big Five test page: ten-item quiz, then the full IPIP-50 at https://deeppersonality.app/big-five-test. Attachment and an optional comparison come after the IPIP-50, not from the quiz.