Test Your Discretion Tendency: Are You a 'Big Mouth'?

1. What Is Discretion Tendency?

Discretion Tendency refers to how consciously a person can control the spread of information in social interactions, especially other people's private or sensitive content. It is not merely a matter of 'being good with words', but a comprehensive form of social self-control involving emotional regulation, boundary awareness, trust perception, and moral judgment.

In daily life, we often encounter scenes like this: a friend tells you something private, and you turn around and tell a third person; or during a chat, you unintentionally reveal someone else's secret. Behind these behaviors lie different levels of discretion tendency.

2. Theoretical Basis: Self-Monitoring Theory

This test primarily draws on the theory proposed by psychologist Mark Snyder, Self-Monitoring Theory. According to this theory, individuals show two main tendencies in social situations:

• High self-monitors: adept at adjusting their behavior and expression to situational cues, they focus more on 'what is best to say right now', and may therefore unintentionally leak information just to fit the mood.
• Low self-monitors: inclined to stay consistent with their inner values and true selves, they focus more on 'whether this statement fits my principles', and therefore tend to be more cautious and firm about confidentiality.

In addition, the test incorporates two more dimensions, 'trust sensitivity' and 'need for emotional release', to more fully assess your real reactions under stress, gossip, or intimacy.

3. The Four Assessment Dimensions of This Test

This test has 20 items organized around the following four core dimensions:

• Boundary awareness: whether you clearly distinguish 'shareable information' from 'private information', and hold a sense of reverence for other people's secrets.
• Situational self-control: at parties, during small talk, or when emotions run high, can you curb the impulse to spill the beans, or do you get carried away by the mood.
• Trust and loyalty: when a secret involves conflicts of interest or interpersonal tension, do you give priority to the promise made to the person who confided in you.
• Venting and expression: whether you use 'sharing secrets' as a way to release stress, build closeness, or gain attention.

4. Purpose and Target Users

This test helps you notice whether your 'information safety valve' in social interactions is sensitive enough. It is suitable for:

• People worried about being 'quick-tongued', easily offending others, or damaging relationships
• Professionals who want to strengthen their workplace credibility and interpersonal trust
• Couples whose intimacy suffers from careless slips of the tongue
• Researchers and enthusiasts interested in social psychology and personality traits

5. Scoring

Each item is scored 1-5, from 'not at all true of me' to 'completely true of me'. Based on your weighted scores across the four dimensions, the system analyzes your discretion style and provides the corresponding type label along with concrete social advice.