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Assessment of Experiences in Activity Test

In 3 minutes, understand how your work feels right now across enjoyment, meaning, effort, and emptiness. Get a quick snapshot to spot burnout risks and focus your energy where it matters most.

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Questions: 123 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

29,376 views

3,134 completions

2,682 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

4/6

Emptiness Index (EI)

The Void ratio reflects how strongly a person experiences emptiness and lack of fulfillment during an activity.

Low emptiness

Moderate emptiness

High emptiness

1 – 2: Low emptiness | 3 – 4: Moderate emptiness | 5 – 6: High emptiness

A score of 4 indicates a moderate sense of emptiness during the activity, suggesting the experience may feel partly unfulfilling or lacking in progress.

example score

3/6

Effort Index (EI)

This scale reflects how much active involvement and willpower you invest in the activity right now.

Low effort

Moderate effort

High effort

1 – 2: Low effort | 3 – 4: Moderate effort | 5 – 6: High effort

A score of 3 suggests a moderate effort level, indicating you are engaged but not pushing your resources to the maximum.

example score

4/6

Meaningfulness Index (MI)

Assesses how significant and purposeful the current activity feels to the person.

Low meaning

Moderate meaning

High meaning

1 – 2: Low meaning | 3 – 4: Moderate meaning | 5 – 6: High meaning

A score of 4 indicates a moderate sense of meaning, suggesting the activity feels fairly purposeful but not strongly values-driven at this moment.

example score

4/6

Enjoyment Index (EI)

This scale measures how much enjoyment and satisfaction a person experiences during an activity.

Low pleasure

Moderate pleasure

High pleasure

1 – 2: Low pleasure | 3 – 4: Moderate pleasure | 5 – 6: High pleasure

A score of 4 indicates a moderately positive experience, suggesting the activity is generally satisfying but not consistently enjoyable.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Burnout-curious professionals

41%OF USERS

People who feel drained or stuck at work and want a quick snapshot of whether their day is driven by meaning, pleasure, effort, or emptiness.

Team leads and HR

34%OF USERS

Managers and people partners who want to check engagement and strain in a role or team and spot where motivation is dropping.

Coaching and therapy clients

25%OF USERS

People working with a coach or psychologist who want to track how different tasks affect their inner state and adjust goals and routines.

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.

Void ratio (Vr)

Average

4.6

Normal range

4 — 5.2

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Effort Level (EL)

Average

3.9

Normal range

3 — 4.8

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Meaning Indicator (MI)

Average

3.7

Normal range

3 — 4.5

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Pleasure Index (PI)

Average

3.3

Normal range

2.6 — 4

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

You will be presented with a number of statements describing possible experiences that may accompany your engagement in a particular activity (the specific activity may be defined by the researcher). Please indicate how often or how rarely you experience these sensations. Base your responses on your actual experiences, and rate each statement independently of the others.

- Almost never
- Rarely
- Relatively rarely
- Relatively often
- Often
- Almost always
- Almost never
- Rarely
- Relatively rarely
- Relatively often
- Often
- Almost always
- Almost never
- Rarely
- Relatively rarely
- Relatively often
- Often
- Almost always

These are 3 of the 12 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

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WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Diagnosis of Emotional Experiences in Activity, DEA Test

Assessment of Experiences in Activity Test - Symptoms and Signs

emotional state

arrange

job satisfaction

This brief self-report measure assesses subjective experiences that can occur during or immediately after engaging in an activity. The Assessment of Experiences in Activity is intended to capture how an individual perceives the quality of their current engagement, including positive involvement as well as strain or disengagement.

The instrument consists of 12 items and typically takes about 3 minutes to complete. It is commonly used to support clinical or applied evaluation of activity-related experiences relevant to motivation and engagement, and can be administered in close temporal proximity to the activity to improve the accuracy of recall.

Results are generally interpreted at the level of experiential dimensions (e.g., enjoyment, perceived meaning, effort, and feelings of emptiness) and may help inform case formulation, goal setting, or monitoring change over time. The Assessment of Experiences in Activity is attributed to M. Csikszentmihalyi and J. Nakamura.

Author: J. Nakamura, M. Csikszentmihalyi

Literature: Russell, J. A. Core affect and the psychological construction of emotion. Psychological Review. 2003.; Warr, P. Work, happiness, and unhappiness. Psychology Press. 2007.