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Metacognitions Questionnaire-30 (MCQ-30)3

Metacognitions Questionnaire-30 (MCQ-30) Test

This 30-question assessment takes about six minutes. The Metacognitions Questionnaire-30 (MCQ-30) Test explores how you relate to worry, thought control, attention, and memory, helping you interpret your profile and reflect on patterns in your thinking.

Questions: 306 minutes

Metacognitions Questionnaire-30 (MCQ-30) Test: client, psychologist, cord, timer.

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

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Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

Cognitive Self-Consciousness (CSC)CSC

Measures how much you monitor and pay attention to your own thoughts and thinking processes.

example score17/24

17/24Moderate monitoringexample score

6 – 12Lower monitoring

13 – 18Moderate monitoring

19 – 24Higher monitoring

A score of 17 falls in the Moderate monitoring range, suggesting you pay noticeable attention to your thoughts without it being at the highest level on this scale.

Need to Control ThoughtsNtCT

Assesses how strongly a person believes they must control their thoughts to prevent negative outcomes.

example score17/24

17/24Moderateexample score

6 – 12Low

13 – 18Moderate

19 – 24High

A score of 17 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a noticeable tendency to feel that controlling thoughts is important, which may relate to efforts to suppress or avoid certain thoughts.

Cognitive ConfidenceCC

Assesses the degree of confidence in one’s cognitive abilities such as attention and memory.

example score13/24

13/24Moderate doubtsexample score

6 – 11Low doubts

12 – 17Moderate doubts

18 – 24High doubts

A score of 13 falls in the Moderate doubts range, suggesting a noticeable but not extreme tendency to question your attention and memory.

Negative Beliefs (NEG)NB

Measures negative beliefs about worry and anxiety being uncontrollable and potentially dangerous.

example score13/24

13/24Moderateexample score

6 – 11Low

12 – 17Moderate

18 – 24High

A score of 13 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a noticeable but not extreme tendency to view worry as hard to control or potentially harmful.

Positive Beliefs About Worry (POS)PBAW

Measures the extent to which a person believes worry is useful or beneficial for coping and problem-solving.

example score16/24

16/24Moderateexample score

6 – 11Low

12 – 18Moderate

19 – 24High

A score of 16 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting you somewhat endorse the idea that worrying can be helpful or motivating.

Total ScoreTS

This scale measures the overall intensity of dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs about thinking, worry, and control of thoughts.

example score85/120

85/120Moderateexample score

30 – 59Lower

60 – 89Moderate

90 – 120Higher

A score of 85 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a notable but not extreme level of maladaptive beliefs about thoughts and their controllability.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

People with chronic worry

41%OF USERS

They take it to understand beliefs that make worry feel dangerous, uncontrollable, or necessary, and how that fuels anxiety.

Therapy clients tracking progress

35%OF USERS

They use it before, during, or after therapy to pinpoint metacognitive patterns and see whether they are changing over time.

Clinicians and researchers

24%OF USERS

They administer it to assess metacognitive beliefs linked to anxiety and mood problems and to support case formulation or studies.

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

Mindfulness of Thinking, CSCMoTC

You?

Average17.8

Typical rangeTypical14.4 – 21.1

Possible6 – 24

Thought Control, NCTCN

You?

Average16.2

Typical rangeTypical13.4 – 18.9

Possible6 – 24

Cognitive Incompetence, CICIC

You?

Average19

Typical rangeTypical16.3 – 21.7

Possible6 – 24

Negative Beliefs, NEGNBN

You?

Average15.9

Typical rangeTypical12.9 – 19

Possible6 – 24

Positive Beliefs, POSPBP

You?

Average12.1

Typical rangeTypical9.7 – 14.5

Possible6 – 24

Overall ScoreOS

You?

Average53.5

Typical rangeTypical41.3 – 65.7

Possible30 – 120

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

Below is a list of beliefs that people may tend to hold. Please read each statement and indicate the extent to which you generally agree with it. Please answer all items; there are no right or wrong answers.

- Disagree
- Tend to agree
- Mostly agree
- Strongly agree
- Disagree
- Tend to agree
- Agree mostly
- Agree completely
- Disagree
- Agree slightly
- Agree mainly
- Agree completely

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

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

Metacognitions Questionnaire-30 (MCQ-30) Test - Description and methodology of the test

irrational beliefs

cbt

metacognition

People who want to understand why worry feels useful, threatening, or difficult to stop can use the Metacognitions Questionnaire-30 (MCQ-30) Test as a structured self-report measure. This metacognitive beliefs assessment focuses on beliefs about thinking: worry’s usefulness or danger, thought control, monitoring, and cognitive confidence. The result shows how strongly these patterns are endorsed.

What This Assessment Explores

The MCQ-30 questionnaire examines beliefs about thinking and the meaning a person assigns to worry, attention, memory, and unwanted thoughts. The result profile contains five component scales and a Total Score:

Cognitive Self-Consciousness (CSC), 6-24, shows thought monitoring: Lower monitoring 6-12; Moderate monitoring 13-18; Higher monitoring 19-24.
Need to Control Thoughts, 6-24, measures control beliefs: Low 6-12; Moderate 13-18; High 19-24.
Cognitive Confidence, 6-24, measures doubts about cognition: Low doubts 6-11; Moderate doubts 12-17; High doubts 18-24.
Negative Beliefs (NEG), 6-24, measures danger and uncontrollability beliefs about worry: Low 6-11; Moderate 12-17; High 18-24.
Positive Beliefs About Worry (POS), 6-24, measures beliefs that worry is useful: Low 6-11; Moderate 12-18; High 19-24.
Total Score, 30-120, measures overall dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs: Lower 30-59; Moderate 60-89; Higher 90-120.

Methodology and Scientific Basis

Each statement presents a belief or experience for a four-point agreement response, from disagreement to strong agreement. The metacognition questionnaire covers thought monitoring, thought control, confidence in memory and attention, and beliefs that worry helps or creates danger. Responses capture personal appraisals, not objective cognitive performance.

Scoring produces five component results and a total profile. Higher values indicate stronger endorsement of the relevant belief pattern, while the total reflects dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs overall. The displayed bands are descriptive categories for lower, moderate, or higher levels.

This questionnaire is conceptually consistent with MCQ-30, but it is not presented as an adaptation or revalidation of the published instrument. The broader metacognitive framework is represented by work from Cartwright-Hatton and Wells, while Spada, Mohiyeddini, and Wells provide further evidence concerning MCQ-30 factor structure and predictive validity. The online questionnaire has no documented local normative standardization.

Current stress, self-awareness, recent experiences, and response style can influence answers, so the online profile is best read as a structured snapshot rather than a diagnosis or fixed trait.

Author: Adrian Wells, Gerald Matthews

Literature:

Wells, A., & Cartwright-Hatton, S. (2004). A short form of the metacognitions questionnaire: Properties of the MCQ-30. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 42(4), 385-396. 10.1016/S0005-7967(03)00147-5
Cartwright-Hatton, S., & Wells, A. (1997). Beliefs about worry and intrusions: The Meta-Cognitions Questionnaire and its correlates. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 11(3), 279-296. 10.1016/S0887-6185(97)00011-X
Spada, M. M., Mohiyeddini, C., & Wells, A. (2008). Measuring metacognitions associated with emotional distress: Factor structure and predictive validity of the metacognitions questionnaire 30. Personality and Individual Differences, 45(3), 238-242. 10.1016/j.paid.2008.04.005

Updated: 2025-10-02