Emotion Regulation Test (PERCI)

The Perth Emotion Regulation Competency Inventory (PERCI) was developed in 2018 by David A. Preece, Richard Becerra, and their research team to address a major gap in psychological measurement. For decades, clinical and personality research focused almost exclusively on how people attempt to down-regulate negative emotional states like sadness, anger, or anxiety. However, the developers of the PERCI recognized that difficulty managing positive emotions—such as excessive impulsivity during moments of excitement, reckless behavior driven by joy, or an inability to sustain pleasant feelings—can be just as disruptive to daily life. The inventory was created to provide a unified, comprehensive framework that measures emotion regulation difficulty across both negative and positive emotional experiences.

The assessment measures eight distinct facets that capture how you experience, tolerate, and respond to your feelings. When dealing with negative emotions, Control assesses whether you have effective strategies to feel better; Inhibition evaluates whether unpleasant feelings lead to out-of-control or self-defeating behavior; Activation examines whether bad moods impair your ability to stay motivated and get work done; and Tolerance measures your capacity to allow distress to be present without frantically trying to eliminate it. In positive emotional contexts, Control measures your capacity to maintain or enhance pleasant states; Inhibition evaluates whether feeling good leads to risky or impulsive actions; Activation assesses whether excitement causes you to neglect responsibilities; and Tolerance looks at whether you can accept feeling good without guilt or discomfort.

Research utilizing the PERCI shows that emotion regulation difficulty is closely tied to psychological health, personal resilience, and interpersonal functioning. Findings indicate that struggles with negative emotion regulation are strongly associated with higher levels of anxiety, depressive symptoms, and chronic stress, as individuals feel powerless against unpleasant internal states. Meanwhile, difficulties with positive emotion regulation often correlate with sensation-seeking, substance misuse, and executive dysfunction. Importantly, research reveals that these eight competencies operate somewhat independently. An individual may possess excellent tools for coping with distress while simultaneously struggling to maintain focus or self-discipline when feeling elated, making a detailed profile far more informative than a single overall label.

Alongside your results, the assessment chart displays estimated population comparison markers for reference. These markers are rough approximations rescaled from published PERCI general-population samples, designed to illustrate where scores typically cluster among non-clinical adults. They do not represent standardized percentile norms or diagnostic cutoff scores for this web-based test. Instead, they serve as a helpful background benchmark to help you understand your relative strengths and potential areas for growth within a general adult context.

Please keep in mind that this assessment is provided purely for educational and self-reflection purposes. It is not a diagnostic tool and cannot diagnose any psychological condition or clinical disorder. The test is based on the Perth Emotion Regulation Competency Inventory (PERCI) but uses its own items and is not affiliated with David A. Preece, his co-investigators, or any associated institutions. If you find that emotional intensity or difficulty managing your feelings is causing significant distress or interfering with your work, relationships, or overall well-being, reaching out to a licensed mental health professional can provide valuable, personalized support.

References

• Preece, D. A., Becerra, R., Robinson, K., Dandy, J., & Allan, A. (2018). Measuring emotion regulation ability across negative and positive emotions: The Perth Emotion Regulation Competency Inventory (PERCI). Personality and Individual Differences, 135, 229-241.