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Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS)3

Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) Test

Understand your current emotional balance in about 4 minutes. This 20 item check-in separates positive and negative mood, making it easy to track change over time for care, research, or teams.

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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

26,248 views

3,344 completions

2,564 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

29/50

Negative Affect (NA)

Measures the intensity of unpleasant emotions such as anxiety, irritability, guilt, and fear over the assessed period.

Low

Moderate

High

10 – 15: Low | 16 – 32: Moderate | 33 – 50: High

A score of 29 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a noticeable but not pronounced level of negative emotional distress during the assessed period.

example score

31/50

Positive Affect (PA)

Positive Affect measures the intensity of pleasant, energetic emotions such as engagement, vigor, and concentration.

Low

Moderate

High

10 – 22: Low | 23 – 39: Moderate | 40 – 50: High

A score of 31 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a moderate level of positive emotions and engagement during the rated period.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Tracking mood changes

41%OF USERS

People who want a quick snapshot of how positive and negative emotions have been shifting over the last few days or weeks.

Therapy and counseling clients

34%OF USERS

Clients and therapists who use a short check-in to monitor emotional state and treatment progress between sessions.

HR and team leaders

25%OF USERS

Workplace specialists who assess stress and emotional climate in teams to guide support and prevention efforts.

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.

Negative Affect (NA)

Average

38.7

Normal range

33 — 44.4

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.

Positive Affect (PA)

Average

39.2

Normal range

32.4 — 46

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

This questionnaire consists of a list of adjectives that describe various feelings and emotions. Please read each adjective and indicate the extent to which you have felt that way during the past several weeks.* *Depending on the study objectives, alternative instruction time frames may be used: right now (at the present moment), today (over the course of the day), during the past several days, during the past week, during the past month, during the past year, or usually (on average).

- Very slightly or not at all
- A little
- Moderately
- Quite a bit
- Extremely
- Very slightly or not at all
- Slightly or a little
- Moderately
- Quite a bit
- Extremely
- Very slightly or not at all
- A little
- Moderately
- Quite a bit
- Extremely

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

Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) Test - Symptoms and Signs

affect

emotional state

positive psychology

This measure provides a brief self-report assessment of current or typical affective experience. The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) uses adjective ratings to quantify two broad dimensions of mood: positive affect and negative affect.

The instrument includes 20 items and typically takes about 4 minutes to complete. Respondents indicate the extent to which they have experienced each feeling state over a specified time frame (e.g., momentary, past few days, or in general), supporting use in clinical monitoring and research contexts. Scoring yields separate indices for positive and negative affect that can be interpreted as dimensional indicators of emotional state.

The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) is commonly used to track changes in affect over time, evaluate treatment-related shifts in mood, and characterize affective profiles across settings and populations. Auke Tellegen is cited among the original developers.

Author: Auke Tellegen, David Watson, Lee Anna Clark

Literature: Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1988.