The test

Find your desire type

Desire is not one-size. In some people it arrives out of nowhere and goes looking for an occasion; in others it arrives once things are already good. Some run strong and steady; some run strong but easily interrupted. Vibotype is a five-minute test that reads how desire works in you and names your pattern - one of four types, drawn on a map you can share or keep to yourself.

What the test reads

• How strong desire runs in you. The Accelerator side: what switches you on, and with how much force.
• What shuts it down. The Brakes side: distraction, feeling self-conscious, stress - the inputs that end interest before anything starts.
• How it starts. Whether your desire tends to show up on its own or once something good is already underway.
• Which senses carry it. The channels that do the most work for you, and the ones that do nothing.

The first two dials come from the Dual Control Model of sexual response, developed by Erick Janssen and John Bancroft at the Kinsey Institute. The full story is on our science page.

Spontaneous or responsive?

If you got here searching for a spontaneous vs responsive desire test: that is one of the dials this test reads, not the whole result. Spontaneous desire shows up first and looks for its moment. Responsive desire shows up in response to something already happening - warmth, touch, a good evening - and is every bit as real. Neither is the broken one. The test locates you on that dial and, more usefully, shows how it combines with your strength and your brakes into one recognizable pattern.

The four types

• All or Nothing. You want plenty, and you also need the day handled before you can sink into any of it.
• Ready When You Are. You catch fire fast, and almost nothing puts it out.
• Slow and Steady. You warm up slowly, and once you're warm, not much can knock you off.
• Vibe First. When the room is right, you're all the way there. When it's wrong, no amount of trying fixes it.

What this is and is not

• A self-reflection tool, not a clinical instrument. It cannot detect or rule out any condition.
• 18 and up. The questions are not graphic, but the framing is grown-up.
• About five minutes, and your full solo result is free. When you want the second dimension, invite a partner and see both patterns on one map.

Free result. 18 and up.