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12 axes vs 8values: eight values are four axes
Understand the 8values test’s four paired dimensions, compare them with twelve 12 axes scales, and learn why similar percentages do not mean identical results.
Reviewed 2026-09-29 · 12axes.org editorial guide
Count axes, not just named values
8values groups eight named values into four paired axes. 12 axes uses twelve paired scales, with two named poles on each. Comparing “8” and “12” as though they counted the same thing misses this distinction. A result with more bars can separate issues that a shorter framework combines. It also takes more explanation to read. The useful question is which topics you want to examine.
Where the frameworks split topics
In 12 axes, support for government provision of healthcare or basic needs appears in Welfare, while redistribution and market incentives appear in Economy. International cooperation has a Global relations score, and the choice between diplomacy and force has a Conflict score. Civil liberties and Democracy are also distinct. These splits allow mixed profiles without treating one belief as proof of another.
What about the ideology at the bottom?
8values describes its closest ideology match as a work in progress. 12 axes does not automatically declare that a percentage profile makes you a particular ideology. Our ideology guide offers broad reading paths with caveats. Party systems, national context and disagreements within ideological traditions can all make a single label a poor summary of a person’s views.
Can an 8values result be converted?
No calibrated conversion is provided. Even the familiar Equality and Markets labels do not make different questions and weighting rules equivalent. Keep your original result alongside a new 12 axes result, compare the topic descriptions, and investigate disagreements in individual statements. Choose 8values for a compact four-axis overview; use 12 axes if you want the separated topics shown in the mapping below. Neither number of axes alone proves reliability.
How the topics map
This is our editorial comparison of topic coverage. It is not a score conversion table.
| Other framework | 12 axes topics | How to interpret the connection |
|---|---|---|
| Economic: Equality / Markets | Economy; Welfare | Redistribution and public provision have separate bars here. |
| Diplomatic: Nation / Globe | Global relations; Conflict | International institutions and the use of force are separated. |
| Civil: Liberty / Authority | Civil liberties; Democracy; Governance | Rights, participation and decentralisation are different questions. |
| Societal: Tradition / Progress | Social change; Religion & state; Environment; Technology | These themes have their own scales in 12 axes. |
| No one-to-one counterpart | Migration | Cross-border movement is reported separately here. |
Explore the twelve axes
Sources and scope
Official framework descriptions checked on 2026-09-29. Mappings and examples are our interpretation. This website is independent of the tests named here.