Home1
Psychological tests2
Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ)3

Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ) Test

With 30 questions taking about 6 minutes, the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ) Test covers helplessness, low self-esteem, negative self-perception and expectations, social maladjustment, desire for change, and overall negative automatic thoughts. Your result offers a structured snapshot for self-reflection and may help you identify patterns worth exploring further.

Questions: 306 minutes

Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ) Test: sample question card

October 2, 2025October 2, 2025Material has been updatedOctober 2, 2025Material has been published

19,849 views

2,128 completions

1,571 likes

Daniel Hall Psychologist · Test reviewer

1,571 likes

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

HelplessnessH

Measures how strongly a person experiences thoughts of being unable to cope with difficulties or influence outcomes.

example score3/5

3/5Moderateexample score

1 – 2.4Low

2.5 – 3.6Moderate

3.7 – 5High

A score of 3 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting intermittent feelings of reduced control and difficulty coping that may arise in some situations but are not consistently dominant.

Low Self-Esteem (LSE)LSE

LSE measures the frequency of automatic thoughts associated with low self-esteem and insecurity.

example score2/5

2/5Lowexample score

1 – 2.3Low

2.4 – 3.6Moderate

3.7 – 5High

A score of 2 suggests a low level of low-self-esteem-related automatic thoughts, indicating relatively limited insecurity in this area.

NSNEN

NSNE measures the frequency and intensity of automatic thoughts reflecting negative self-view and pessimistic expectations.

example score4/5

4/5Highexample score

1 – 2.4Low

2.5 – 3.4Moderate

3.5 – 5High

A score of 4 falls in the High range, suggesting frequent negative self-appraisals and adverse expectations in automatic thinking.

PMDCP

PMDC measures social maladjustment and the intensity of a desire to change one’s current situation.

example score3/5

3/5Moderateexample score

1 – 2.3Low

2.4 – 3.6Moderate

3.7 – 5High

A score of 3 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting some difficulties with social adaptation and a noticeable wish for change, but not at a pronounced level.

Total ScoreTS

Reflects the overall intensity and frequency of negative automatic thoughts and how strongly a person tends to believe them.

example score66/150

66/150Lowexample score

30 – 69Low

70 – 109Moderate

110 – 150High

A score of 66 falls in the Low range, suggesting relatively infrequent negative automatic thoughts and lower trust in them compared with higher scores.

just completed the test

DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

People in a low mood

46%OF USERS

They notice persistent sadness, fatigue, or loss of interest and want to understand how often negative thoughts are looping in their mind.

Clients in therapy

32%OF USERS

They are already working with a psychologist or psychotherapist and use the results to track changes in negative thinking over time.

Specialists assessing depression

22%OF USERS

Psychologists and counselors use it to quickly quantify automatic negative thoughts and decide what to focus on in treatment.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Shaded area — where most people score

Dot — the average

You — your score lands on each curve after the test— your score, after the test

HelplessnessH

You?

Average3.9

Typical rangeTypical3.2 – 4.6

Possible1 – 5

LSEL

You?

Average4

Typical rangeTypical3.5 – 4.5

Possible1 – 5

NSNEN

You?

Average2.2

Typical rangeTypical1.6 – 2.7

Possible1 – 5

PMDCP

You?

Average2.5

Typical rangeTypical1.8 – 3.2

Possible1 – 5

Overall scoreOs

You?

Average84.6

Typical rangeTypical67.1 – 102.2

Possible30 – 150

Featured On

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

Listed below are various thoughts that people sometimes find repeatedly running through their minds. Please read each statement and indicate how often you experienced these thoughts during the past week.

- Not at all
- Sometimes
- Fairly often
- Often
- All the time
- Not at all
- Sometimes
- Fairly often
- Often
- All the time
- Not at all
- Sometimes
- Relatively often
- Often
- All the time

These are 3 of the 30 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ) Test - Description and methodology of the test

cognitive therapy

cbt

People who notice recurring self-criticism, pessimistic predictions, or difficulty coping may find this questionnaire useful for organizing those experiences. The Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ) Test gives a structured view of negative self-statements and the themes surrounding them. This automatic thoughts assessment organizes those themes into a focused snapshot for personal reflection and for deciding which patterns deserve closer attention.

What This Assessment Explores

The statements address coping, self-worth, failure, connection, motivation, and future expectations. The questionnaire assesses negative automatic thought patterns by organizing these themes into the result dimensions:

Helplessness (1-5) reflects perceived inability to cope; Low 1-2.4, Moderate 2.5-3.6, High 3.7-5.
Low Self-Esteem (LSE) (1-5) reflects self-doubt and reduced self-worth; Low 1-2.3, Moderate 2.4-3.6, High 3.7-5.
NSNE (1-5) reflects negative self-perception and expectations; Low 1-2.4, Moderate 2.5-3.4, High 3.5-5.
PMDC (1-5) reflects social maladjustment and a wish for change; Low 1-2.3, Moderate 2.4-3.6, High 3.7-5.
Total Score (30-150) reflects overall endorsement of negative automatic thoughts; Low 30-69, Moderate 70-109, High 110-150.

The total summarizes overall endorsement.

Methodology and Evidence Base

Each item is a self-report statement rated with five ordered frequency choices spanning Not at all to All the time. The ATQ questionnaire asks how often a thought is experienced, not whether it is true or false.

The questionnaire reports four displayed scale scores and a total score; it does not document how individual items are allocated or how many points each response contributes. The displayed values are therefore the basis for reading the result, rather than a formula reconstructed from score ranges.

The online questionnaire is conceptually consistent with Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (Hollon & Kendall, 1980) and Beck’s cognitive model of depression. Hollon, Kendall, and Lumry’s 1986 study examined depressotypic cognitions in clinical depression. These sources support the framework for interpreting negative self-statements.

The cited studies do not provide norms for this online version; its displayed bands are descriptive, not population norms. Because the items ask about thought frequency, scores can be affected by current mood, circumstances, self-awareness, and response style.

Author: Aaron T. Beck, Steven D. Hollon

Literature:

Hollon, Steven D., and Philip C. Kendall. (1980). Cognitive self-statements in depression: Development of an automatic thoughts questionnaire. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 4(4), 383-395. 10.1007/BF01178214 (cir.nii.ac.jp)
Hollon, Steven D., Philip C. Kendall, and Ann E. Lumry. (1986). Specificity of depressotypic cognitions in clinical depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95(1), 52-59. 10.1037/0021-843X.95.1.52
Beck, Aaron T., A. John Rush, Brian F. Shaw, and Gary Emery. (1979). Cognitive therapy of depression. New York: Guilford Press.

Updated: 2025-10-02