In the context of this quiz, a poser is an extremely image-conscious person who pretends to be someone they aren’t. Being a poser involves enormous psychological stress and broken relationships. Posers stress themselves by competing with other people and trying to outdo everyone else. Posers may seem like really mean and superficial people, but in reality they are incredibly harsh on themselves too. Being a poser is actually very difficult. Acknowledging that you have these tendencies may help you change your attitude and become a happier and more productive person.
Recommended download: Stop pretending you’re something you’re not, and accept yourself for who you are.
So are you a poser? Answer the questions below to find out.
Your friends
are only those you consider to be “important” people
mostly belong to your own social group
you don’t discriminate and give a chance to everyone
How do you choose your romantic partners?
based on the level of their physical attractiveness / social standing / success
someone who could enhance your own image
based on other common relationship values, such as the level of connection, trust, loyalty, intelligence, etc.
Your personal grooming routine
is elaborate and time-consuming
ensures you look presentable
may vary
You compare yourself to others
all the time
a lot
not really
If someone is better than you at something, you
get angry and aggressive
become anxious and insecure
get inspired
Every time you go to the gym,
it’s a challenge to outdo everybody else
you are concerned that other people are looking at you and judging you
you just do whatever you feel like doing without worrying about other people
When your children underperform at school,
you scold them harshly
hire tutors; work, work, work until they are better than average
try to discover their other strengths
Your self-esteem is based on
other people’s admiration
other people’s respect
you don’t obsess about other people’s opinions
Do you want other people to envy you?
definitely yes
probably yes
no, not at all
Do you crave other people’s attention?
always
sometimes
never
You talk mainly about yourself.
always
only occasionally
almost never
You compete with your coworkers.
true most of the time
true some of the time
rarely or never
You competitiveness gets in the way of building authentic relationships.
definitely true
somewhat
not at all
Being around other successful people makes you feel uncomfortable.
always
often
rarely or never
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To you, fame is more desirable than money.
yes definitely
not necessarily
I am not after fame.
You want to seem special and difficult to approach.
true
depends
definitely not
You see failure as humiliation.
agree
agree slightly
disagree
You never talk about your setbacks out of fear of ruining your image.
true
partially true
false
You stress yourself.
definitely true
somewhat true
false
You don’t allow others to get close to you because you fear they will be able to see your imperfections.
definitely true
somewhat true
false
1-32: The Natural
You are a self-accepting and genuine person. Unlike many other people, you aren’t hiding behind a mask, and you are everything you seem to be. If you ever worried about other people’s acceptance, you are over it now and are no longer motivated by other people’s praise and admiration. You strive to do things that are important to you personally and you couldn’t care less about other people’s opinion of you. You follow your own heart and enjoy being yourself.
33-66: The Restless
You are an ambitious and competitive person. You are concerned with your image and worry about making a good impression. Because impressing others is important to you, you’ve been working hard to acquire status symbols, such as good education, career, prestigious addresses and luxury goods. You aren’t openly aggressive, but you spend a lot of time comparing yourself to others and want to make sure you are better than them. On the one hand, you crave people’s acceptance, and on the other hand, you are competing with them.
You are a bit of a perfectionist and want to excel at everything you do, be that your career or housekeeping. You may have a tendency to overwork yourself and may feel tired and overwhelmed. You judge yourself by other people’s standards and are somewhat out of touch with your own values and feelings.
67-100: The Poser
You are an extremely image conscious person. You have crafted your public image according to what you think other people may like and accept and now live in a constant fear to be exposed as less than what you pretend to be. You have a tendency to constantly promote yourself and make yourself sound better than you really are. Some of the things you may be doing:
- bragging about your accomplishments,
- exaggerating your accomplishments or even lying about them,
- dropping names,
- lying in your resumes,
- taking credit for others’ work,
- subtly or explicitly making others feel inadequate,
- showing off your status,
- showing off your body,
- showing off your partners,
- and other attention-getting behaviors.
It feels like you constantly live in the limelight and are forced to wear a mask every day. On the one hand, you wish you truly could be that supposedly amazing person you pretend to be; and on the other hand, you don’t allow yourself to relax and be yourself, even if less than perfect. You may also have some narcissistic tendencies and you may actually believe you are superior to other people.
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