What the TPSI measures
In 1999, studying medical teams, Dr. Edmondson made a counter-intuitive discovery: the best hospital teams appeared to make the most errors. Upon deeper investigation, she found they weren't making more errors; they were the only teams reporting their errors. In toxic teams, nurses hid their mistakes because they feared being fired or humiliated by doctors, leading to patient deaths. Psychological safety is the #1 predictor of team effectiveness (validated by Google's Project Aristotle). It is not about "being nice"; it is about creating a culture of brutal honesty wrapped in absolute respect.
The dimensions it assesses
- Error Reporting: Safe to admit mistakes without fear of punitive retaliation.
- Inclusivity & Voice: Safe to bring up tough problems, ask "stupid" questions, or challenge the status quo.
- Anti-Sabotage: Trust that colleagues will not deliberately undermine or reject one another for being different.
Already have a TPSI score from somewhere else? Look it up without retaking the questionnaire.
What your score means
Scores on the TPSI are interpreted against the ranges below, which come from the instrument's published validation research rather than from us.
| Score | Interpretation | What it suggests |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 – 3.9 | Toxic / Fear-Based | The team operates in survival mode. Mistakes are hidden, innovation is zero, and turnover will be massive. The manager is likely ruling via intimidation. Immediate intervention required. |
| 4.0 – 5.4 | Apathetic / Conditional | The "Polite" team. People get along but avoid conflict. They won't sabotage each other, but they also won't challenge bad ideas. Innovation is stagnant. |
| 5.5 – 7.0 | High Psychological Safety | The elite tier. Team members ruthlessly debate ideas without attacking the person. Mistakes are viewed as learning data. Maximum innovation and retention. |
These ranges describe groups of people, not individuals. A score near a boundary is not meaningfully different from one just across it, and no range on this table is a diagnosis.
What to do with your result
- The "Nice" Trap: Many managers confuse Psychological Safety with "being nice" or lowering standards. The report must clarify that high psychological safety coupled with low accountability yields a lazy, country-club culture. High safety coupled with high accountability yields a high-performance learning zone.
- Managerial Interventions: To increase safety (Score < 4), the leader must model vulnerability. The leader must publicly state: "I don't know the answer to this," or "I made a mistake on this project." If the leader is infallible, the subordinates are not allowed to be human.
- The Blameless Post-Mortem: Teams scoring low on Q1 (Mistakes held against you) must implement structural blameless post-mortems. When a failure occurs, the discussion must center on "What failed in our system?" not "Who is the idiot that pushed the wrong button?"
Common questions about the TPSI
- What does the TPSI measure?
- Measurement of Psychological Safety: the shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking without fear of humiliation or retaliation.
- Can the TPSI diagnose me?
- No. Team Psychological Safety (TPSI) is a screening questionnaire, not a diagnostic tool. It can flag that something may need a closer look. It cannot tell you what is causing it. It describes tendencies rather than diagnosing anything, and no result here is a condition or something to fix.
- How long does the TPSI take?
- 7 questions, which most people finish in 2 – 4 minutes. There is no time limit, and answering honestly matters more than answering quickly. The results page checks for patterns suggesting the questions were rushed.
- Is this TPSI test really free?
- Yes. No account, no email address, no payment. Psychometrics Today is funded by donations rather than advertising, which is also what allows us to publish instruments whose authors permit free but non-commercial use.
- Are my answers stored or shared?
- No. Your answers are scored inside your browser and never sent to us. There is no database of responses, because we never receive any. Closing the tab erases them, which is why results cannot be recovered afterwards.
- How often should I retake the TPSI?
- Traits and preferences move slowly, so retaking this every few months is more informative than retaking it often. Larger shifts usually follow a genuine change in circumstances.
- Who created the TPSI, and is this the real version?
- It was published by Psychometrics Today (original items). Original items operationalising Edmondson's psychological-safety construct. Her published 7-item measure is not reproduced. The items here are the published ones rather than a paraphrase, and the scoring follows the original rules. Both are documented on this page so they can be checked.
- How accurate is the TPSI?
- Screening questionnaires are good at flagging that something merits attention and poor at establishing what it is. This one is sensitive to how you feel on the day you take it, and many instruments were validated on narrow populations whose cut-offs may not transfer cleanly to everyone. The references at the foot of this page are the primary sources.
Sources
Items written by the Psychometrics Today Team, based on published theory. The theory is credited below.
- Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350-383.
- Edmondson, A. C. (2018). The fearless organization: Creating psychological safety in the workplace for learning, innovation, and growth. John Wiley & Sons.
Licensing
Public domain. Original items operationalising Edmondson's psychological-safety construct. Her published 7-item measure is not reproduced.
Do not reproduce Edmondson's original seven items — use only the original set.