Paternalism Questionnaire Test

Understand attitudes toward authority, care, responsibility, and rules in about 4 minutes. A quick 20 item snapshot that supports counseling, training, and research decisions.

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Questions: 204 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

32,383 views

2,272 completions

2,000 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

23/35

Attitudes Toward the Law (ATtL)

Measures respect for the law versus a tendency toward legal nihilism and willingness to bypass rules when convenient.

Law-respecting

Mixed / situational

Law-bypassing tendency

5 – 16: Law-respecting | 17 – 26: Mixed / situational | 27 – 35: Law-bypassing tendency

A score of 23 falls in the Mixed / situational range, suggesting generally pragmatic attitudes where adherence to rules may depend on context rather than being consistent.

example score

25/35

Abdication of Responsibility (AoR)

This scale measures the tendency to relieve oneself of personal responsibility by shifting accountability and decision-making to authorities or other people.

Low

Moderate

High

5 – 14: Low | 15 – 25: Moderate | 26 – 35: High

A score of 25 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a noticeable but not extreme inclination to delegate responsibility and accountability to others in some situations.

example score

27/35

Desire for Guardianship and Care (DfGaC)

Measures the extent to which a person expects authorities to provide care, guidance, and protection for those under their influence.

Low

Moderate

High

5 – 15: Low | 16 – 25: Moderate | 26 – 35: High

A score of 27 falls in the High range, suggesting a pronounced expectation that powerful authorities should take responsibility for caring for and protecting subordinates.

example score

11/35

Mystification of Authority (MoA)

Measures the tendency to personify and mystify authority by viewing power figures as omnipotent, infallible parental-like leaders.

Low mystification

Moderate mystification

High mystification

5 – 15: Low mystification | 16 – 25: Moderate mystification | 26 – 35: High mystification

A score of 11 falls in the Low mystification range, suggesting a generally grounded view of authority as neither omnipotent nor beyond question.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Psychology and counseling clients

41%OF USERS

People in therapy or coaching take it to see how their views on authority, responsibility, and rules shape relationships and decisions.

HR and team leaders

34%OF USERS

Managers and HR specialists use it to understand paternalistic leadership tendencies and responsibility patterns in teams.

Researchers and program designers

25%OF USERS

Social psychologists and training designers include it in surveys to map attitudes toward power, care, and compliance across groups.

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

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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.

Attitude towards the law (Attl)

Average

27.1

Normal range

21.7 — 32.4

min.

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Relieving Oneself of Responsibility (ROoR)

Average

Normal range

13.8 — 24.2

min.

max.

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Desire for care and protection (Dfcap)

Average

24.4

Normal range

20.6 — 28.2

min.

max.

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The Myth of Power (TMoP)

Average

Normal range

14.8 — 23.3

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.

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Not sure / neither agree nor disagree
- Somewhat agree
- Agree
- Completely agree
- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Somewhat agree
- Agree
- Completely agree
- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Not sure / neither agree nor disagree
- Somewhat agree
- Agree
- Strongly agree

These are 3 of the 20 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

Paternalism Questionnaire Test - Symptoms and Signs

cultural values

This measure assesses attitudes and beliefs related to paternalism, including views about authority, responsibility, and social order. The Paternalism Questionnaire provides a brief self-report format for screening individual differences in paternalistic orientations.

The instrument contains 20 items and typically takes about 4 minutes to complete. Respondents rate agreement with statements reflecting perceptions of authority, caregiving or protective impulses toward others, tendencies to defer or shift responsibility, and attitudes toward rules and norms. The Paternalism Questionnaire was developed by John T. Jost and Susan T. Fiske and may be used in research or clinical-adjacent contexts where a concise assessment of these attitudes is needed.

Author: John T. Jost, Susan T. Fiske

Literature: Sidanius, J., & Pratto, F. Social dominance: An intergroup theory of social hierarchy and oppression. Cambridge University Press. 1999.; Jost, J. T., Banaji, M. R., & Nosek, B. A. A decade of system justification theory: Accumulated evidence of conscious and unconscious bolstering of the status quo. Political Psychology. 2004.