Course outline
Module 1
Module 1: Introduction to VIA Character Strengths
Introduction to VIA Character Strengths
Knowledge check
Q1. What does VIA stand for in the context of VIA Character Strengths?
- A. Values in Action
- B. Virtues in Action ✓
- C. Vision and Inspiration Assessment
- D. Velocity of Individual Achievement
Why: VIA stands for Virtues in Action. The VIA Institute on Character developed a framework identifying 24 character strengths that express six broader core virtues.
Q2. How many core virtues are identified in the VIA Classification of Character Strengths?
- A. Four
- B. Five
- C. Six ✓
- D. Twelve
Why: The VIA framework identifies six core virtues: wisdom and knowledge, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence. These virtues are supported by 24 individual character strengths.
Q3. Which of the following is one of the 24 VIA character strengths?
- A. Ambition
- B. Perseverance ✓
- C. Competitiveness
- D. Wealth
Why: Perseverance, also called persistence, is one of the 24 VIA character strengths, grouped under the virtue of courage. The others listed are not part of the VIA classification.
Q4. Which virtue category includes the character strengths of kindness, love, and social intelligence?
- A. Justice
- B. Temperance
- C. Humanity ✓
- D. Transcendence
Why: Kindness, love, and social intelligence are the three character strengths grouped under the virtue of humanity, which concerns caring for and interacting positively with others.
Q5. According to the VIA approach, what is a key feature of character strengths?
- A. They are fixed traits that cannot be developed
- B. They are measurable, valued in their own right, and can be developed over time ✓
- C. They are only relevant in professional settings
- D. They are identical across all cultures and never change
Why: VIA character strengths are positive traits that can be measured, are valued for their own sake, and can be cultivated and developed through practice and intention.
Module 2
Module 2: Identifying Your Top Strengths
Identifying Your Top Strengths
Knowledge check
Q1. What is the primary purpose of the VIA Survey of Character Strengths?
- A. To diagnose mental health disorders
- B. To identify an individual's top character strengths ✓
- C. To rank employees for job placement
- D. To measure intelligence and academic aptitude
Why: The VIA Survey is a self-report questionnaire designed to help individuals identify their signature character strengths, which are the core positive traits they express most naturally and authentically.
Q2. According to the VIA classification, how many core virtues are there?
- A. Three
- B. Six ✓
- C. Ten
- D. Twenty-four
Why: The VIA classification organizes 24 character strengths under six broad core virtues: wisdom and knowledge, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence. The 24 strengths are the specific traits that fall within these virtues.
Q3. Which of the following is considered a signature strength?
- A. A strength you rarely use and find difficult to express
- B. A strength that others typically see in you and that feels authentic and energizing when you use it ✓
- C. Any strength that scores above zero on the survey
- D. A strength that only appears in professional settings
Why: Signature strengths are those that feel like the 'real you.' They are used frequently, feel natural, and often energize rather than drain a person when expressed.
Q4. Which approach is recommended when interpreting your VIA results?
- A. Focus only on your lowest-scoring strengths to fix weaknesses
- B. Assume the top-ranked strength is the only one that matters
- C. Reflect on how your top strengths show up in real examples from your life ✓
- D. Ignore results that do not match your self-image
Why: Strengths-based practice encourages reflection on concrete examples of when and how you have used your top strengths. This grounds the results in lived experience and helps you apply them more deliberately.
Q5. Which statement best describes how character strengths are understood in the VIA framework?
- A. They are fixed traits that cannot be developed over time
- B. They are only relevant to religious or moral education
- C. They are measurable, valued positive traits that can be intentionally developed and applied ✓
- D. They are identical for every culture and cannot be expressed differently
Why: The VIA framework treats character strengths as measurable, morally valued traits that people can cultivate and deploy intentionally. While cultures may express them differently, the framework views strengths as developable capacities.
Module 3
Module 3: The Six Core Virtues
The Six Core Virtues
Knowledge check
Q1. According to the VIA Classification of Character Strengths, how many core virtues are identified as the broad categories that organize the 24 character strengths?
- A. Four
- B. Six ✓
- C. Eight
- D. Twelve
Why: The VIA framework identifies six core virtues (wisdom and knowledge, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence), under which the 24 character strengths are grouped.
Q2. Which core virtue is associated with strengths such as creativity, curiosity, judgment, love of learning, and perspective?
- A. Courage
- B. Humanity
- C. Justice
- D. Wisdom and Knowledge ✓
Why: Wisdom and Knowledge is the core virtue that groups cognitive strengths involved in acquiring and using knowledge, including creativity, curiosity, judgment, love of learning, and perspective.
Q3. Which of the following strengths belongs to the core virtue of Courage?
- A. Kindness
- B. Fairness
- C. Bravery ✓
- D. Forgiveness
Why: Bravery is one of the four strengths under Courage, alongside persistence, honesty, and zest. Kindness belongs to Humanity, fairness to Justice, and forgiveness to Temperance.
Q4. The core virtue of Transcendence is best described as which of the following?
- A. Strengths that protect against excess, such as modesty and self-regulation
- B. Strengths that connect us to something larger than ourselves, such as gratitude and hope ✓
- C. Strengths that involve caring for and befriending others, such as love and teamwork
- D. Strengths that involve healthy civic life, such as leadership and fairness
Why: Transcendence includes strengths that forge connections to the larger universe and provide meaning, such as appreciation of beauty, gratitude, hope, humor, and spirituality.
Q5. Which core virtue contains the strengths of prudence, humility, and self-regulation?
- A. Justice
- B. Temperance ✓
- C. Humanity
- D. Courage
Why: Temperance is the core virtue of strengths that protect against excess. It includes forgiveness, humility, prudence, and self-regulation.
Module 4
Module 4: Applying Strengths in Daily Life
Applying Strengths in Daily Life
Knowledge check
Q1. According to the VIA framework, which of the following best describes a character strength?
- A. A temporary mood that changes with the weather
- B. A positive trait reflected in thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that can be developed over time ✓
- C. A skill learned only through formal education
- D. A genetic ability that cannot be changed
Why: VIA character strengths are positive, morally valued traits that show up in how people think, feel, and act, and they can be cultivated and strengthened with intentional practice.
Q2. Which approach best illustrates applying a signature strength in daily life?
- A. Waiting for a special occasion to use your strengths
- B. Identifying your top strength, such as curiosity, and deliberately using it when planning your workday ✓
- C. Avoiding situations where your strengths might be tested
- D. Focusing only on the strengths you rank lowest
Why: Applying a signature strength means recognizing your top-ranked strengths and intentionally using them in everyday activities, such as bringing curiosity to a work problem.
Q3. A student who ranks 'kindness' among their top strengths notices a classmate struggling with homework. What is the most strengths-based response?
- A. Ignore the situation because it is not their responsibility
- B. Offer to help explain the material, using kindness to support the classmate ✓
- C. Report the classmate to the teacher for falling behind
- D. Wait to see if the classmate asks for help before doing anything
Why: Expressing a top strength like kindness through a concrete, helpful action is the core of applying strengths in daily life, turning a trait into observable behavior.
Q4. Why does the VIA approach recommend using strengths in new ways rather than only in familiar ways?
- A. Familiar uses of strengths are always harmful
- B. Novel uses of strengths can increase engagement and well-being by keeping the practice fresh and meaningful ✓
- C. New uses are required to earn a certification
- D. Strengths only work when used in unfamiliar settings
Why: Research on strengths-based interventions suggests that using a strength in a new way can boost positive feelings and engagement, while familiar uses may lose their novelty over time.
Q5. Which statement reflects a balanced understanding of strength use according to the VIA framework?
- A. Using a strength in every situation, regardless of context, is always best
- B. Strengths should be applied thoughtfully, with attention to context, since overusing a strength can sometimes cause problems ✓
- C. Lower-ranked strengths are unimportant and should never be used
- D. Strength use is only beneficial in professional settings
Why: Strengths are most effective when used with judgment and sensitivity to context, because overuse or misapplication of a strength (for example, excessive zeal) can create difficulties.
Module 5
Module 5: Strengths-Based Communication
Strengths-Based Communication
Knowledge check
Q1. In the VIA Classification of Character Strengths, how many core virtue categories are there?
- A. Three
- B. Six ✓
- C. Nine
- D. Twelve
Why: The VIA framework organizes 24 character strengths under six broad core virtues: wisdom and knowledge, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence.
Q2. Which of the following is a character strength under the virtue of humanity?
- A. Perseverance
- B. Kindness ✓
- C. Prudence
- D. Gratitude
Why: Kindness belongs to the humanity virtue, alongside love and social intelligence. Perseverance falls under courage, prudence under temperance, and gratitude under transcendence.
Q3. What is the main purpose of strengths-based communication?
- A. To focus primarily on correcting weaknesses and deficits
- B. To highlight a person's existing character strengths to build engagement and growth
- C. To rank people by their overall personality scores
- D. To avoid discussing any personal qualities at all
Q4. According to the VIA approach, how many character strengths are measured in the classification?
- A. 12
- B. 18
- C. 24 ✓
- D. 36
Why: The VIA Classification identifies 24 universal character strengths, each of which can be possessed in varying degrees by any individual.
Q5. Which communication approach best reflects strengths-based practice when giving feedback to a colleague who struggles with a project?
- A. Listing every mistake they made in order of severity
- B. Identifying a strength they demonstrated, such as persistence, and showing how it can be applied to the challenge ✓
- C. Comparing their performance unfavorably to their peers
- D. Ignoring the problem to avoid discomfort
Why: Strengths-based feedback anchors the conversation in what the person does well and shows how those strengths can address the difficulty, which tends to increase motivation and receptiveness.
Module 6
Module 6: Cultivating and Developing Strengths
Cultivating and Developing Strengths
Knowledge check
Q1. In the VIA Classification of Character Strengths, how many core virtues are identified?
- A. Three
- B. Six ✓
- C. Twelve
- D. Twenty-four
Why: The VIA framework identifies six core virtues (wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence), each of which is manifested through a set of related character strengths. The 24 strengths are the specific traits that express these six virtues.
Q2. Which of the following is a recommended first step when cultivating a character strength?
- A. Attempting to develop all 24 strengths simultaneously
- B. Identifying your signature strengths through the VIA Survey ✓
- C. Focusing only on your weakest character traits
- D. Waiting until a crisis forces you to change
Why: The VIA Survey helps individuals identify their signature strengths, the traits they most strongly possess. Building on existing strengths is generally more effective and motivating than trying to fix everything at once or focusing only on weaknesses.
Q3. What does the term 'signature strengths' refer to in the VIA model?
- A. Strengths that are rare among the general population
- B. The strengths a person is most likely to be recognized for by others
- C. Character strengths that are most central, energizing, and authentic to an individual ✓
- D. The strengths required for a particular profession
Why: Signature strengths are those character strengths that feel most authentic and central to a person's identity. Using them tends to energize the person, and they are often expressed across many life contexts.
Q4. Which practice is commonly used to cultivate a strength by deliberately using it in new ways?
- A. Strength-of-the-day exercises ✓
- B. Sleep deprivation routines
- C. Avoiding situations that require the strength
- D. Comparing yourself to others only
Why: Strength-of-the-day or 'use a strength in a new way' exercises encourage people to intentionally apply a particular strength daily. Research on positive psychology interventions suggests this kind of deliberate, varied practice helps strengths become more habitual and fulfilling.
Q5. According to research on character strengths, what is generally true about developing strengths over time?
- A. Strengths are fixed and cannot be changed after childhood
- B. Strengths can be cultivated and strengthened through intentional practice ✓
- C. Only the strengths scored highest on the VIA Survey can ever grow
- D. Strengths only develop through formal education
Why: A central premise of the VIA approach is that character strengths are malleable and can be developed through intentional practice, reflection, and environmental support. They are not fixed traits that stop changing after childhood.
Module 7
Module 7: Measuring and Reflecting on Strengths
Measuring and Reflecting on Strengths
Knowledge check
Q1. What does VIA stand for in the context of VIA character strengths?
- A. Valued Intrinsic Attributes
- B. Values in Action ✓
- C. Virtues of Individual Achievement
- D. Vital Interpersonal Abilities
Why: VIA stands for Values in Action, the name of the research-based framework and classification of character strengths developed by Peterson and Seligman.
Q2. How many core virtues are included in the VIA Classification of Character Strengths?
- A. Three
- B. Six ✓
- C. Eight
- D. Twelve
Why: The VIA classification identifies six core virtues: wisdom and knowledge, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence. These virtues are broken down into 24 individual character strengths.
Q3. Which of the following is one of the 24 VIA character strengths?
- A. Ambition
- B. Gratitude ✓
- C. Wealth
- D. Competitiveness
Why: Gratitude is one of the 24 VIA character strengths, falling under the virtue of transcendence. Ambition, wealth, and competitiveness are not part of the VIA classification.
Q4. What is the most widely used tool for measuring an individual's VIA character strengths?
- A. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
- B. The VIA Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS) ✓
- C. The Big Five Personality Inventory
- D. The Strong Interest Inventory
Why: The VIA Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS) is a free, widely used self-report questionnaire designed specifically to measure the 24 VIA character strengths and rank an individual's strongest and weakest strengths.
Q5. Why is reflecting on your top character strengths considered valuable?
- A. It guarantees a promotion at work
- B. It helps people identify and intentionally use their strengths in daily life, which is linked to greater well-being ✓
- C. It eliminates all personal weaknesses
- D. It replaces the need for professional counseling
Why: Research suggests that identifying and using signature strengths in new ways is associated with increased well-being and life satisfaction. Reflection helps people apply their strengths purposefully rather than eliminating weaknesses or guaranteeing outcomes.