Now, for your evaluation, rate each statement on
a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly
agree):
1. I do not evaluate myself as a person based on
my performance, but unconditionally accept
myself as a worthwhile human being.
2. I cannot accept the fact that I am not as
smart as others.
3. I do not evaluate others based on the good or
bad things they do, but unconditionally accept
them as worthwhile human beings.
4. I do not think I should evaluate my worth as a
human being based on my performance.
5. I do not evaluate others based on the way they
look, but I unconditionally accept them as
worthwhile human beings.
6. I know I am not as smart as others, but I
accept myself, and feel good about myself just
the way I am.
7. Even if life is unfair, I can accept it just the
way it is.
8. I cannot accept the fact that I am less
attractive than others.
9. Even if the others have negative personality
traits, I can accept them the way they are.
10. I cannot accept my negative personality
traits.
11. It is normal to evaluate others based on the
way they look.
12. I do not think I should evaluate others as
worthwhile or worthless human beings based on
the good or bad things they do.
13. I do not think I should evaluate myself as a
person based on the good or bad things that I do.
14. I know I have some negative personality
traits, but I accept myself just the way I am.
15. I cannot accept people who have negative
personality traits.
16. I do not rate life as good/fair or bad/unfair,
but unconditionally accept it just the way it is.
To score yourself:
Turn your scores around for items 2, 8, 10, and
15 (7=1, 1=7, etc.).
Items 1-8 reflect philosophical self-
acceptance.
Items 9-16 measure psychological self-
acceptance.
Your scores on both scales can range from 8
to 56; the higher you are, the more self-
accepting and accepting of others you are.
A score of 44 on each scale (a 5.5 rating per
item) indicates that you’re within the average
of David et al.’s sample in self- and other-
acceptance. Based on the relationships with
other measures from the study, furthermore,
people higher in the UAQ have less emotional
distress and have fewer of the types of
thoughts that trigger depression. Interestingly,
self-esteem scores were negatively related to
the UAQ, meaning that people who are low in
the tendency to make judgments also don’t
judge their own selves.
Because self-esteem reflects the tendency to
judge your self-worth, you’ll be happier, then, if
you don’t engage in extensive self-scrutiny about
whether to “like” yourself or not. This doesn’t
mean you go about life without evaluating what
you do, but it does mean that you’ll be happier if
you don’t stop to judge yourself (or others) at
every turn.
All of this begs the question of what to do when
you encounter people who judge you. To the best
of your ability, you need to bat off their
judgmental stares, questions, and comments.
When you're in a similar position, instead of
reacting to others by saying that you “like” or
“don’t like” their ideas, rephrase your response to
indicate. whether the idea is useful or not.
In keeping with the idea of acceptance and self-
acceptance, recognize that people who are
constantly judging you are probably judging
themselves as well. They may have a history of
having been overly judged by parents or others,
and it’s difficult for them to see the world any
other way. Once you understand where they’re
coming from, not only will you be able to avoid
undue self-criticism by internalizing their
reactions, but you’ll also be more empathic to
them.
We can probably never completely avoid judging
ourselves and others and, in the process, forming
negative impressions. The more sensitive you are
to this tendency in yourself, though, the better you
can feel and more positive your impact will be on
others.

If that soooo