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Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ)3

Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ) Test

In 5 minutes, learn how a student views their strengths and future outlook. Get actionable insight into confidence, hope, optimism, and resilience to guide support and growth.

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Questions: 245 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

21,374 views

2,048 completions

1,606 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

25/30

Resilience (R)

Measures the ability to maintain and restore inner resources and emotional balance when facing stress or setbacks.

Low

Moderate

High

0 – 13: Low | 14 – 24: Moderate | 25 – 30: High

A score of 25 falls in the High range, suggesting strong capacity to bounce back from difficulties and stay psychologically steady under pressure.

example score

14/30

Optimism (O)

Measures the tendency to expect positive outcomes and maintain a constructive outlook on the present and future.

Low

Moderate

High

0 – 15: Low | 16 – 25: Moderate | 26 – 30: High

A score of 14 falls in the Low range, suggesting a less consistent expectation of favorable outcomes and a more cautious view of future prospects.

example score

11/30

Hope (H)

Assesses the ability to set goals, generate pathways to reach them, and adjust strategies when obstacles arise.

Low hope

Moderate hope

High hope

0 – 13: Low hope | 14 – 21: Moderate hope | 22 – 30: High hope

A score of 11 falls in the Low hope range, suggesting limited goal-directed planning and flexibility in finding alternative routes when difficulties appear.

example score

13/30

Confidence (C)

Measures self-efficacy—the degree of belief in one’s ability to successfully handle challenging tasks and take responsibility for outcomes.

Low

Moderate

High

0 – 13: Low | 14 – 22: Moderate | 23 – 30: High

A score of 13 falls in the Low range, suggesting self-confidence may be less stable and challenging tasks may be approached with more doubt than assurance.

example score

33/120

Psychological Capital (PC)

Measures overall psychological capital as a combined level of self-efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience.

Low

Moderate

High

0 – 59: Low | 60 – 92: Moderate | 93 – 120: High

A score of 33 falls in the Low range, suggesting currently limited internal resources for confidence, hopeful goal pursuit, optimism, and bouncing back from setbacks.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Students under academic stress

41%OF USERS

They take it to understand how confident, hopeful, optimistic, and resilient they feel during heavy workloads, exams, or setbacks.

School and university counselors

34%OF USERS

They use it to quickly assess students’ inner resources and choose targeted support or development steps.

High achievers and leaders

25%OF USERS

They take it to identify strengths and weak spots in motivation and resilience while aiming for ambitious goals and responsibilities.

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.

Resilience (R)

Average

17.3

Normal range

13.5 — 21.2

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.

Optimism (O)

Average

9.1

Normal range

3.5 — 14.8

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.

Hope (H)

Average

22.2

Normal range

16.9 — 27.4

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.

Confidence (C)

Average

20.1

Normal range

14.6 — 25.6

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.

Psychological Capital (PC)

Average

57.5

Normal range

41.9 — 73.1

min.

max.

120

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 are presented with a series of statements concerning your education and academic activities. Please indicate the extent to which you agree with each statement using the response scale provided.

- Strongly agree
- Agree
- Agree more than disagree
- Disagree more than agree
- Disagree
- Strongly disagree
- Strongly agree
- Agree
- Agree more than disagree
- Disagree more than agree
- Disagree
- Strongly disagree
- Strongly agree
- Agree
- Agree more than disagree
- Disagree more than agree
- Disagree
- Strongly disagree

These are 3 of the 24 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

Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ) Test - Symptoms and Signs

resourcefulness

self-efficacy

resilience

This measure is designed to assess an individual’s psychological resources that may be associated with coping and goal-directed functioning. The Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ) is a brief self-report instrument commonly used in educational and organizational settings to characterize positive psychological capacities.

The questionnaire includes 24 items and typically takes about 5 minutes to complete. Items are intended to reflect four related domains-self-efficacy, optimism, hope, and resilience-yielding domain-level information as well as an overall profile of psychological capital for screening, program evaluation, or research purposes.

The Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ) was developed by James B. Avey and Bruce J. Avolio. Interpretation should be integrated with other clinical or contextual information and used within appropriate ethical and measurement limitations.

Author: Bruce J. Avolio, Fred Luthans, James B. Avey

Literature: Luthans, F., Youssef, C. M., & Avolio, B. J. Psychological capital: Developing the human competitive edge. Oxford University Press. 2007.