War Attitudes Questionnaire Test

By reflecting on beliefs about armed conflict, you can use the War Attitudes Questionnaire Test as a three-minute, 12-question self-reflection assessment. Its result highlights views of war’s humanitarian, social, economic, moral, and practical consequences, helping you recognise your overall position and consider the beliefs shaping your judgments.

Questions: 123 minutes

War Attitudes Questionnaire Test: situation and reply bubbles

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

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Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

Negative Humanitarian ConsequencesNHC

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

example score7/14

7/14Moderate recognitionexample score

2 – 5Low recognition

6 – 10Moderate recognition

11 – 14High 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.

Positive Humanitarian ConsequencesPHC

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

example score9/14

9/14Moderate endorsementexample score

2 – 6Low endorsement

7 – 10Moderate endorsement

11 – 14High endorsement

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

Social ConsequencesSC

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

example score7/14

7/14Moderate awarenessexample score

2 – 6Low awareness

7 – 10Moderate awareness

11 – 14High awareness

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

Economic ConsequencesEC

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

example score9/14

9/14Moderate awarenessexample score

2 – 6Low awareness

7 – 10Moderate awareness

11 – 14High 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.

Moral JustificationMJ

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

example score8/14

8/14Moderate justificationexample score

2 – 5Low justification

6 – 10Moderate justification

11 – 14High 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.

Perceived Effectiveness of WarPEoW

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

example score6/14

6/14Skeptical of effectivenessexample score

2 – 6Skeptical of effectiveness

7 – 10Mixed view

11 – 14Sees war as effective

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

General Attitudes Toward WarGATW

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

example score54/84

54/84Mixed or ambivalentexample score

12 – 36Negative toward war

37 – 60Mixed or ambivalent

61 – 84More 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.

Shaded area — where most people score

Dot — the average

You — your score lands on each curve after the test— your score, after the test

Negative humanitarian consequencesNhc

You?

Average5.3

Typical rangeTypical3.7 – 7

Possible2 – 14

Positive humanitarian consequencesPhc

You?

Average6.3

Typical rangeTypical4.9 – 7.8

Possible2 – 14

Social ConsequencesSC

You?

Average7.1

Typical rangeTypical5.5 – 8.7

Possible2 – 14

Economic consequencesEc

You?

Average5.4

Typical rangeTypical3.8 – 7.1

Possible2 – 14

Moral justificationMj

You?

Average5.6

Typical rangeTypical3.8 – 7.4

Possible2 – 14

The Effectiveness of WarTEoW

You?

Average8.8

Typical rangeTypical6.9 – 10.6

Possible2 – 14

General Attitudes Toward WarGATW

You?

Average51.2

Typical rangeTypical39.5 – 62.8

Possible12 – 84

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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.

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

War Attitudes Questionnaire Test - Description and methodology of the test

ethnopsychology

intergroup relations

People who want to examine their views of armed conflict can use the War Attitudes Questionnaire Test to organise judgments that may otherwise remain mixed. This war attitude test is intended for readers reflecting on whether force is harmful, useful, socially consequential, or morally defensible. Its profile separates several perspectives, helping respondents recognise an overall position and the beliefs shaping it.

What This Assessment Explores

The profile gives people taking an attitudes toward war questionnaire a concise view of these result dimensions:

Negative Humanitarian Consequences (2-14) measures recognition of harm: Low recognition 2-5; Moderate recognition 6-10; High recognition 11-14.
Positive Humanitarian Consequences (2-14) measures endorsement of beneficial change: Low endorsement 2-6; Moderate endorsement 7-10; High endorsement 11-14.
Social Consequences (2-14) measures recognition of social effects: Low awareness 2-6; Moderate awareness 7-10; High awareness 11-14.
Economic Consequences (2-14) measures recognition of economic effects: Low awareness 2-6; Moderate awareness 7-10; High awareness 11-14.
Moral Justification (2-14) measures ethical acceptance: Low justification 2-5; Moderate justification 6-10; High justification 11-14.
Perceived Effectiveness of War (2-14) measures belief war achieves goals: Skeptical of effectiveness 2-6; Mixed view 7-10; Sees war as effective 11-14.
General Attitudes Toward War (12-84) measures overall stance: Negative toward war 12-36; Mixed or ambivalent 37-60; More justifying of war 61-84.

Methodology and Evidence Base

Each statement uses a seven-point agreement scale, from strong disagreement through an unsure midpoint to strong agreement. Items address negotiation, protection, progress, personal experience, social effects, economic change, and whether war is justified or effective. This captures degree of endorsement rather than a simple yes-or-no position.

The scoring combines responses into six thematic results and one broader total. The displayed bands show how the catalogue groups scores; they are not universal norms or clinical cutoffs. Conceptually, the structure is closest to the Russian Attitudes Toward War Scale (Nevryuev, 2018), while this online questionnaire is not a direct reproduction or validated adaptation.

Research by Bizumic et al. (2013) and Van der Linden et al. (2017) is relevant because it treats peace and war attitudes as related but distinguishable. That evidence supports reading the profile as a pattern, not assuming that approval of force means rejection of peace. As a war beliefs assessment, it remains sensitive to current events, personal experience, wording, and self-report bias; the result is a structured reflection aid rather than a standardized diagnostic measure.

Author: Daniel Bar-Tal, Ervin Staub

Literature:

Nevryuev, A. N. (2018). Development of a Questionnaire to Measure Attitude to War as a Means of Solving International Conflicts. Psychology: Journal of the Higher School of Economics, 15(3), 464-476. 10.17323/1813-8918-2018-3-464-476
Bizumic, B., Stubager, R., Mellon, S., Van der Linden, N., Iyer, R., & Jones, B. M. (2013). On the (In)Compatibility of Attitudes Toward Peace and War. Political Psychology, 34(5), 673-693. 10.1111/pops.12032
Van der Linden, N., Leys, C., Klein, O., & Bouchat, P. (2017). Are Attitudes Toward Peace and War the Two Sides of the Same Coin? Evidence to the Contrary from a French Validation of the Attitudes Toward Peace and War Scale. PLOS ONE, 12(9), e0184001. 10.1371/journal.pone.0184001

Updated: 2025-10-02