War Attitudes Questionnaire Test

Understand views on war as a tool for resolving international conflict in about 3 minutes. 12 items deliver clear, actionable insight for counseling, education, or research.

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Questions: 123 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

15,443 views

1,792 completions

1,516 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

7/14

Negative Humanitarian Consequences (NHC)

Measures the extent to which a person recognizes war’s harmful humanitarian impacts on people and society.

Low recognition

Moderate recognition

High recognition

2 – 5: Low recognition | 6 – 10: Moderate recognition | 11 – 14: High recognition

A score of 7 falls in the Moderate recognition range, suggesting a balanced awareness of war’s negative humanitarian consequences without consistently strong endorsement of its destructiveness.

example score

9/14

Positive Humanitarian Consequences (PHC)

Measures the extent to which a person perceives war as having positive humanitarian outcomes for society or particular groups.

Low endorsement

Moderate endorsement

High endorsement

2 – 6: Low endorsement | 7 – 10: Moderate endorsement | 11 – 14: High endorsement

A score of 9 falls in the Moderate endorsement range, suggesting a moderate tendency to view war as producing some positive humanitarian consequences.

example score

7/14

Social Consequences (SC)

Measures the extent to which a person recognizes and considers the broader social changes and impacts associated with war.

Low awareness

Moderate awareness

High awareness

2 – 6: Low awareness | 7 – 10: Moderate awareness | 11 – 14: High awareness

A score of 7 indicates a moderate tendency to notice and factor in the social consequences of war without strongly emphasizing them.

example score

9/14

Economic Consequences (EC)

Measures how strongly a person recognizes and considers the economic consequences of war.

Low awareness

Moderate awareness

High awareness

2 – 6: Low awareness | 7 – 10: Moderate awareness | 11 – 14: High awareness

A score of 9 suggests a moderate level of awareness of war-related economic impacts, with noticeable attention to economic changes but not a strongly emphasized focus.

example score

8/14

Moral Justification (MJ)

Measures how strongly a respondent morally justifies war as an ethically permissible means of resolving international conflict.

Low justification

Moderate justification

High justification

2 – 5: Low justification | 6 – 10: Moderate justification | 11 – 14: High justification

A score of 8 indicates a moderate tendency to view war as morally justifiable in some circumstances rather than clearly unacceptable or clearly permissible.

example score

6/14

Perceived Effectiveness of War (PEoW)

Measures how strongly a person views war as an effective means of achieving political or strategic goals.

Skeptical of effectiveness

Mixed view

Sees war as effective

2 – 6: Skeptical of effectiveness | 7 – 10: Mixed view | 11 – 14: Sees war as effective

A score of 6 falls in the low range, suggesting a generally skeptical view of war’s effectiveness for achieving goals.

example score

54/84

General Attitudes Toward War (GATW)

Measures a person’s overall stance toward war as a social phenomenon, from condemning to more justifying views.

Negative toward war

Mixed or ambivalent

More justifying of war

12 – 36: Negative toward war | 37 – 60: Mixed or ambivalent | 61 – 84: More justifying of war

A score of 54 falls in the mixed or ambivalent range, suggesting a generally moderate stance that may include both critical and justifying views of war depending on context.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Students and researchers

41%OF USERS

People in psychology, sociology, or political science use it to measure attitudes toward war for coursework, surveys, or academic studies.

Veterans and peacekeepers

33%OF USERS

Those with military or peacekeeping experience take it to reflect on how their service shaped their views on conflict and its consequences.

Counseling and support clients

26%OF USERS

Individuals in therapy or support settings use it to clarify personal beliefs about war and guide further discussion about values and coping.

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 humanitarian consequences (Nhc)

Average

5.3

Normal range

3.7 — 7

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.

Positive humanitarian consequences (Phc)

Average

6.3

Normal range

4.9 — 7.8

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.

Social Consequences (SC)

Average

7.1

Normal range

5.5 — 8.7

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.

Economic consequences (Ec)

Average

5.4

Normal range

3.8 — 7.1

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.

Moral justification (Mj)

Average

5.6

Normal range

3.8 — 7.4

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.

The Effectiveness of War (TEoW)

Average

8.8

Normal range

6.9 — 10.6

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.

General Attitudes Toward War (GATW)

Average

51.2

Normal range

39.5 — 62.8

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.

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

In the modern world, wars are used to resolve international conflicts. Consider your attitudes toward war. Indicate the extent to which you agree with the statements below.

- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Unsure
- Somewhat agree
- Agree
- Strongly agree
- Completely disagree
- Disagree
- Rather disagree
- Unsure
- Rather agree
- Agree
- Completely agree
- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Not sure
- Somewhat agree
- Agree
- Strongly agree

These are 3 of the 12 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

Questionnaire for Measuring Attitudes Toward War Test

War Attitudes Questionnaire Test - Symptoms and Signs

ethnopsychology

intergroup relations

This brief self-report measure assesses attitudes toward war as a means of addressing international conflict. The War Attitudes Questionnaire is designed for rapid screening of respondents’ endorsement or rejection of war-related beliefs.

Developed by Daniel Bar-Tal and Ervin Staub, it consists of 12 items and typically takes about 3 minutes to complete. Items ask respondents to rate statements about the perceived meaning, consequences, and justification of war, supporting use in clinical, research, and program-evaluation contexts. Scores from the War Attitudes Questionnaire may help guide follow-up interviewing and inform interpretation alongside other sources of clinical or contextual information.

Author: Daniel Bar-Tal, Ervin Staub

Literature: Eagly, A. H., & Chaiken, S. The psychology of attitudes. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 1993.