Background
Deenz Inferiority Complex Scale (DICS) is a short self-report tool built to capture something many people feel but rarely name clearly: the quiet sense that you don't quite measure up. Across 21 statements, it looks at how this shows up in everyday life — through self-doubt, constant comparison, anxiety around being evaluated, and discomfort with your own worth. The scale breaks this down into four dimensions: Performance Doubt, Social Comparison, Evaluation Anxiety, and Self-Doubt. Looking at these separately, rather than as one vague feeling, makes it easier to see where your own patterns actually come from and how they play out at work, in relationships, and in the way you see yourself.
Procedure
You'll be given 21 short statements describing everyday situations — the kind most people run into regularly. For each one, rate how much it sounds like you, using a simple 5-point scale (1 = Not at all like me, to 5 = Very much like me). You can take it on your own or in a group, on paper or online. There's no clock running, and most people get through it in about 5 to 10 minutes.
Participation
This scale is meant for teens and adults. It's a quick way to get a read on everyday self-doubt, how much you compare yourself to others, and how you handle being evaluated. It works well for research, teaching, or simply understanding yourself better — but it isn't built to diagnose anything clinically.
Scoring & Interpretation
There are 21 items in total, each rated on a 5-point scale (1 = Strongly Disagree through 5 = Strongly Agree). One item — number 16 — is reverse-scored, since it's worded in the opposite direction of the others.
The items split into four groups:
Performance Doubt: items 2, 3, 7, 11, 19 (raw score range 5–25)
Social Comparison: items 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12 (raw score range 8–40)
Evaluation Anxiety: items 13, 14, 15, 16 (raw score range 4–20)
Self-Doubt: items 17, 18, 20, 21 (raw score range 4–20)
Your overall score is just the sum of all 21 processed items, giving a total somewhere between 21 and 105. To make comparisons easier, each dimension score is also converted onto a standardized 0–100 scale.
Deenz Inferiority Complex Scale (DICS) Questionnaire
Below is the Deenz Inferiority Complex Scale (DICS), a digitally adapted 21- items self-assessment questionnaire. Go through each statement and think about how closely it matches your usual thoughts or feelings in that kind of situation. There's no "correct" answer here — just be as honest with yourself as you can.