Anemone's Personality Pages

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The Hartmann Boundary Questionnaire (HBQ)

Please try to rate each of the statements from 0 to 4.
0 indicates no, not at all, or not at all true of me.
4 indicates yes, definitely, or very true of me.

Please try to answer all of the questions and statements as quickly as you can.

When I awake in the morning, I am not sure whether I am really awake for a few minutes.
I have had unusual reactions to alcohol.
My feelings blend into one another.
I am very close to my childhood feelings.
I am very careful about what I say to people until I get to know them really well.
I am very sensitive to other people's feelings.
I like to pigeonhole things as much as possible.
I like solid music with a definite beat.
I think children have a special sense of joy and wonder that is later often lost.
In an organization, everyone should have a definite place and a specific role.
People of different nations are basically very much alike.
There are a great many forces influencing us which science does not understand at all.
I have dreams, daydreams, nightmares in which my body or someone else's body is being stabbed, injured, or torn apart.
I have had unusual reactions to marijuana.
Sometimes I don't know whether I am thinking or feeling.
I can remember things from when I was less than three years old.
I expect other people to keep a certain distance.
I think I would be a good psychotherapist.
I keep my desk and worktable neat and well organized.
I think it might be fun to wear medieval armor.
A good teacher needs to help a child remain special.
When making a decision, you shouldn't let your feelings get in the way.
Being dressed neatly and cleanly is very important.
There is a time for thinking and there is a time for feeling: they should be kept separate.
My daydreams don't always stay in control.
I have had unusual reactions to coffee or tea.
For me, things are black and white; there are no shades of gray.
I had a difficult and complicated childhood.
When I get involved with someone, I know exactly who I am and who the other person is. We may cooperate, but we maintain our separate selves.
I am easily hurt.
I get to appointments right on time.
I like heavy solid clothing.
Children and adults have a lot in common. They should give themselves a chance to be together without any strict roles.
In getting along with other people in an organization, it is very important to be flexible and adaptable.
I believe many of the world's problems could be solved if only people trusted each other more.
Either you are telling the truth or you are lying; that's all there is to it.
I spend a lot of time daydreaming, fantasizing, or in reverie.
I am afraid I may fall apart completely.
I like to have beautiful experiences without analyzing them or trying to understand them in detail.
I have definite plans for my future. I can lay out pretty well what I expect year by year at least for the next few years.
I can usually tell what another person is thinking or feeling without anyone saying anything.
I am unusually sensitive to loud noises and to bright lights.
I am good at keeping accounts and keeping track of my money.
I like stories that have a definite beginning, middle, and end.
I think an artist must in part remain a child.
A good organization is one in which all the lines of responsibility are precise and clearly established.
Each nation should be clear about its interests and its own boundaries, as well as the interests and boundaries of other nations.
There is a place for everything, and everything should be in its place.
Every time something frightening happens to me, I have nightmares or fantasies or flashbacks involving the frightening event.
I feel unsure of who I am at times.
At times I feel happy and sad all at once.
I have a clear memory of my past. I could tell you pretty well what happened year by year.
When I get involved with someone, we sometimes get too close.
I am a very sensitive person.
I like things to be spelled out precisely and specifically.
I think a good teacher must remain in part a child.
I like paintings and drawings with clean outlines and no blurred edges.
A good relationship is one in which everything is clearly defined and spelled out.
People are totally different from each other.
When I wake up, I wake up quickly and I am absolutely sure I am awake.
At times I have felt as if I were coming apart.
My thoughts blend into one another.
I had a difficult and complicated adolescence.
Sometimes it's scary when one gets too involved with another person.
I enjoy soaking up atmosphere even if I don't understand exactly what's going on.
[This question was removed by Hartmann.]
I like paintings or drawings with soft and blurred edges.
A good parent has to be a bit of a child too.
I cannot imagine marrying or living with someone of another religion.
It is very hard to empathize truly with another person because people are so different.
All important thought involves feelings, too.
I have dreams and daydreams or nightmares in which I see isolated body parts - arms, legs, heads, and so on.
Things around me seem to change their size and shape.
I can easily imagine myself to be an animal or what it might be like to be an animal.
I feel very separate and distinct from everyone else.
When I am in a new situation, I try to find out precisely what is going on and what the rules are as soon as possible.
I enjoy(ed) geometry; there are simple, straightforward rules, and everything fits.
A good parent must be able to empathize with his or her children, to be their friend and playmate at the same time.
I cannot imagine living with or marrying a person of another race.
People are so different that I never know what someone else is thinking or feeling.
Beauty is a very subjective thing. I know what I like, but I wouldn't expect anyone else to agree.
In my daydreams, people kind of merge into one another or one person turns into another.
My body sometimes seems to change its size or shape.
I get overinvolved in things.
When something happens to a friend of mine or a lover, it is almost as if it happened to me.
When I work on a project, I don't like to tie myself down to a definite outline. I rather like to let my mind wander.
Good solid frames are very important for a picture or a painting.
I think children need strict discipline.
People are happier with their own kind than when they mix.
East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet. (Kipling)
There are definite rules and standards, which one can learn, about what is and is not beautiful.
In my dreams, people sometimes merge into each other or become other people.
I believe I am influenced by forces which no one can understand.
When I read something, I get so involved that it can be difficult to get back to reality.
I trust people easily.
When I am working on a project, I make a careful detailed outline and then follow it closely.
The movies and TV shows I like the best are the ones where there are good guys and bad guys and you always know who they are.
If we open ourselves to the world, we find that things go better than expected.
Most people are sane; some people are crazy; there is no in-between.
I have had déjà vu experiences.
I have a very definite sense of space around me.
When I get really involved in a game or in playing at something, it's sometimes hard when the game stops and the rest of the world begins.
I am a very open person.
I think I would enjoy being an engineer.
There are no sharp dividing lines between normal people, people with problems, and people who are considered psychotic or crazy.
When I listen to music, I get so involved that it is sometimes difficult to get back to reality.
I am always at least a little bit on my guard.
I am a down-to-earth, no-nonsense kind of person.
I like houses with flexible spaces, where you can shift things around and make different uses of the same rooms.
Success is largely a matter of good organization and keeping good records.
Everyone is a little crazy at times.
I have daymares.
I awake from one dream into another.
Time slows down and speeds up for me. Time passes very differently on different occasions.
I feel at one with the world.
Sometimes I meet someone and trust him or her so completely that I can share just about everything about myself at the first meeting.
I think I would enjoy being the captain of a ship.
Good fences make good neighbours.
My dreams are so vivid that even later I can't tell them from waking reality.
I have often had the experience of different senses coming together. For example, I have felt that I could smell a colour, or see a sound, or hear an odour.
I read things straight through from beginning to end. (I don't skip or go off on interesting tangents.)
I have friends and I have enemies, and I know which are which.
I think I would enjoy being some kind of a creative artist.
A man is a man and a woman is a woman; it is very important to maintain that distinction.
I know exactly what parts of town are safe and what parts are unsafe.
I have had the experience of not knowing whether I was imagining something or it was actually happening.
When I recall a conversation or a piece of music, I hear it just as though it were happening there again right in front of me.
I think I would enjoy a really loose, flexible job where I could write my own job description.
All men have something feminine in them and all women have something masculine in them.
In my dreams, I have been a person of the opposite sex.
I have had the experience of someone calling me or speaking my name and not being sure whether it was really happening or I was imagining it.
I can visualize something so vividly that it is just as though it is happening right in front of me.
I think I could be a good fortune-teller or a medium.
In my dreams, I am always myself.
I see auras or fields of energy around people.
I can easily imagine myself to be someone of the opposite sex.
I like clear, precise borders.
I have had the feeling that someone who is close to me was in danger or was hurt, although I had no ordinary way of knowing it, and later found out it was true.
I have a very clear and distinct sense of time.
I like houses where rooms have definite walls and each room has a definite function.
I have had dreams that later came true.
I like fuzzy borders.
I have had "out of body" experiences during which my mind seems to leave, or has actually left, my body.
I like straight lines.
I like wavy or curved lines better than I like straight lines.
I feel sure that I can empathize with the very old.

What does this mean?

Source: Hartmann, Ernest, 1991. Boundaries in the mind: A new psychology of personality. BasicBooks, NY.