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Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire (MDMQ)3

Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire (MDMQ) Test

Understand how you make choices under uncertainty and manage stress in just 3 minutes. With 22 quick items, it pinpoints avoidance, delay, and rational strengths to guide coaching or care.

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Questions: 223 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

19,580 views

1,419 completions

1,124 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

11/15

Hypervigilance (H)

Measures the tendency to react to difficult choices with hurried, impulsive searching for an exit rather than careful analysis.

Low

Moderate

High

5 – 8: Low | 9 – 12: Moderate | 13 – 15: High

A score of 11 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting you may sometimes rush decisions under pressure, though not consistently at a panic-driven level.

example score

10/15

Procrastination (P)

This scale measures how strongly a person tends to delay making decisions and put off taking responsibility for choices.

Low

Moderate

High

5 – 8: Low | 9 – 11: Moderate | 12 – 15: High

A score of 10 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a noticeable tendency to postpone decisions at times, especially when choices feel demanding or unclear.

example score

13/18

Avoidance (A)

Measures the tendency to evade making decisions by shifting responsibility, delaying choice, or justifying dubious alternatives under uncertainty.

Low avoidance

Moderate avoidance

High avoidance

6 – 9: Low avoidance | 10 – 14: Moderate avoidance | 15 – 18: High avoidance

A score of 13 falls in the Moderate avoidance range, suggesting you may sometimes sidestep decisions or defer responsibility when situations feel uncertain or stressful.

example score

8/18

Vigilance (V)

Alertness (vigilance) measures how deliberately and analytically a person clarifies goals, weighs alternatives, and thinks through information before deciding.

Low alertness

Moderate alertness

High alertness

6 – 10: Low alertness | 11 – 14: Moderate alertness | 15 – 18: High alertness

A score of 8 falls in the Low alertness range, suggesting a less thorough, less deliberative approach to evaluating options before making decisions.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Anxious overthinkers

41%OF USERS

People who get stuck weighing options and want to understand why they delay decisions and how to cope better under uncertainty.

Managers under pressure

34%OF USERS

Leaders making frequent high-stakes calls who want to spot stress-driven decision patterns and strengthen a more rational, constructive approach.

Coaching and therapy clients

25%OF USERS

Clients working on self-regulation who want clear feedback on avoidance, procrastination, and coping strategies in ambiguous situations.

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.

Hypervigilance (H)

Average

11.9

Normal range

10.2 — 13.7

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.

Procrastination (P)

Average

7.5

Normal range

5.6 — 9.4

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.

Avoidance (A)

Average

11.9

Normal range

10.3 — 13.5

min.

max.

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Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Alertness (A)

Average

13.7

Normal range

12 — 15.5

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.

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

People differ in how they make decisions. Please indicate how you typically make decisions. For each item, select the response option that best reflects your usual decision-making style.

- Not true for me
- Sometimes true
- True for me
- Not true for me
- Sometimes true
- True for me
- Not true for me
- Sometimes true
- True for me

These are 3 of the 22 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

Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire (MDMQ) Test - Symptoms and Signs

procrastination

coping behavior

This questionnaire is designed to assess individual differences in decision-making tendencies under conditions of uncertainty and perceived pressure. The Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire (MDMQ) provides a brief self-report measure of how a person typically approaches difficult choices and the stress associated with them.

The instrument includes 22 items and typically requires about 3 minutes to complete. Items are intended to characterize common patterns such as decisional delay, avoidance, and more deliberate or vigilant decision-making. The measure is commonly used in clinical, counseling, and applied assessment contexts as an index of decision-related coping style.

Originally developed by Leon Mann and Irving L. Janis, the Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire (MDMQ) can help identify decision-making patterns that may contribute to distress or impaired functioning, particularly when decisions are time-pressured or ambiguous. Results are generally interpreted as descriptive indicators of decision style and are best considered alongside clinical interview data and other relevant measures.

Author: Irving L. Janis, Leon Mann

Literature: Janis, I. L., & Mann, L. Decision making: A psychological analysis of conflict, choice, and commitment. Free Press. 1977.; Mann, L., Burnett, P., Radford, M., & Ford, S. The Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire: An instrument for measuring patterns for coping with decisional conflict. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making. 1997.