Basic Meaning Attitudes Test

In about seven minutes, the Basic Meaning Attitudes Test uses 35 statements to explore how you understand responsibility, achievement, relationships, emotions, and self-worth. Your profile highlights patterns in these beliefs, helping you reflect on personal expectations, dependence on approval, and the balance between autonomy and consideration for others.

Questions: 357 minutes

Basic Meaning Attitudes 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

Responsibility for SelfRfS

Measures how a person attributes responsibility for their life outcomes to themselves versus external circumstances.

example score5/10

5/10Balancedexample score

0 – 4Over-control

5 – 6Balanced

7 – 10Externalizing

A score of 5 falls in the Balanced range, suggesting a generally adequate sense of personal responsibility while still acknowledging external influences.

Responsibility for OthersRfO

Measures how strongly a person feels responsible for other people and how well they maintain healthy responsibility boundaries.

example score5/10

5/10Balancedexample score

0 – 3Low

4 – 6Balanced

7 – 10High

A score of 5 suggests a generally balanced sense of responsibility for others with awareness of personal boundaries and mutuality in relationships.

Demandingness Toward OthersDTO

Measures how strongly you expect others to meet your standards and how tolerant you are when they do not.

example score3/10

3/10Low demandingnessexample score

0 – 3Low demandingness

4 – 6Moderate demandingness

7 – 10High demandingness

A score of 3 suggests relatively low expectations of others, which may make it easier to avoid conflict but also increase the chance your needs are overlooked.

Self-DemandingnessSD

Measures how strongly a person sets high standards for themselves and strives for perfection versus maintaining flexible, realistic expectations.

example score4/10

4/10Balanced self-demandexample score

0 – 3Low self-demand

4 – 6Balanced self-demand

7 – 10High self-demand

A score of 4 falls in the balanced range, suggesting generally realistic self-expectations with room to learn from mistakes without excessive self-criticism.

Achievement-Contingent Self-WorthACSW

Measures how strongly a person’s self-worth and emotional stability depend on achieving success and meeting performance goals.

example score8/10

8/10Highexample score

0 – 3Low

4 – 7Balanced

8 – 10High

A score of 8 indicates a high dependence on achievements, where self-esteem is strongly tied to outcomes and setbacks may be experienced as especially distressing.

Emotional DependenceED

Measures how strongly a person relies on others for emotional support and reassurance versus maintaining emotional autonomy.

example score4/10

4/10Moderateexample score

0 – 3Low

4 – 6Moderate

7 – 10High

A score of 4 indicates a moderate level of emotional dependence, suggesting support from others matters but is generally balanced with personal autonomy.

Verbal DependenceVD

Measures how strongly a person’s self-esteem depends on others’ opinions, praise, and criticism.

example score3/10

3/10Moderateexample score

0 – 2Low

3 – 6Moderate

7 – 10High

A score of 3 indicates a moderate level, suggesting generally stable self-worth with some sensitivity to others’ evaluations.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Stuck in repeating patterns

41%OF USERS

People who notice the same relationship or self-sabotage issues repeating and want to see which core beliefs are driving them.

Self-critical high achievers

34%OF USERS

People who set high standards, feel never good enough, and want to identify rigid beliefs fueling stress and burnout.

Clients starting therapy

25%OF USERS

People beginning psychological work who want a quick snapshot of their thinking filters to focus sessions on the most problematic areas.

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

Responsibility for YourselfRfY

You?

Average5

Typical rangeTypical3.8 – 6.2

Possible0 – 10

Responsibility for OthersRfO

You?

Average3.2

Typical rangeTypical1.9 – 4.5

Possible0 – 10

Demandingness Towards OthersDTO

You?

Average6.9

Typical rangeTypical5.3 – 8.6

Possible0 – 10

Self-DemandingnessS

You?

Average3

Typical rangeTypical1.4 – 4.6

Possible0 – 10

Dependence on achievementsDoa

You?

Average5.1

Typical rangeTypical3.9 – 6.3

Possible0 – 10

Emotional DependenceED

You?

Average4.9

Typical rangeTypical3.2 – 6.6

Possible0 – 10

Verbal AddictionVA

You?

Average5.8

Typical rangeTypical4.1 – 7.5

Possible0 – 10

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

- Strongly disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Neutral
- Somewhat agree
- Strongly agree
- Strongly disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Neutral
- Somewhat agree
- Strongly agree
- Strongly disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Neutral
- Somewhat agree
- Strongly agree

These are 3 of the 35 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

Basic Meaning Attitudes Test - Description and methodology of the test

irrational beliefs

cognitive therapy

cbt

People who want to examine the assumptions shaping their reactions to responsibility, approval, achievement, and close relationships may find the Basic Meaning Attitudes Test useful. This assessment can show whether these beliefs lean toward autonomy, obligation, perfectionism, dependence, or external control. The result offers a profile of recurring attitudes for structured self-reflection in everyday decisions, relationships, and responses to setbacks.

What This Assessment Explores

Questions in this attitudes assessment cover responsibility, standards, achievement, dependence, and reactions to criticism or obstacles. Its scales are:

Responsibility for Self (0-10) shows overestimating personal control or shifting responsibility to external circumstances: Over-control 0-4, Balanced 5-6, Externalizing 7-10.
Responsibility for Others (0-10) shows responsibility for others: Low 0-3, Balanced 4-6, High 7-10.
Demandingness Toward Others (0-10) shows demands on others: Low demandingness 0-3, Moderate demandingness 4-6, High demandingness 7-10.
Self-Demandingness (0-10) shows self-demands: Low self-demand 0-3, Balanced self-demand 4-6, High self-demand 7-10.
Achievement-Contingent Self-Worth (0-10) shows achievement-based self-worth: Low 0-3, Balanced 4-7, High 8-10.
Emotional Dependence (0-10) shows reliance on support: Low 0-3, Moderate 4-6, High 7-10.
Verbal Dependence (0-10) shows how self-respect depends on other people's opinions: Low 0-2, Moderate 3-6, High 7-10.

Methodology and Scientific Basis

Each item in this self-report questionnaire is a self-report statement answered on a five-point scale from strong or complete disagreement through a neutral midpoint to strong or complete agreement. The format asks how closely each belief fits. Results are reported across the seven displayed dimensions, but the questionnaire does not specify how individual responses are converted into scale scores, including item weights or a conversion rule.

The questionnaire is conceptually consistent with the Semantic Basic Attitudes Questionnaire described by Ishkov and Miloradova, but it is not presented as a standardized administration of that instrument. The 2007 patent describes the original assessment method, and Karasaeva’s 2013 study examines the SBA in two samples. Beck et al.’s 1991 study of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale is a related study of dysfunctional attitudes, but it does not validate this questionnaire.

A meaning attitudes profile is read as patterns across domains: displayed bands are interpretive categories, not clinical norms, and this online version has no population norms, reliability estimates, or clinical validation; responses may shift with stress, self-awareness, or the wish to appear favorable.

Author: Aaron T. Beck, Judith S. Beck

Literature:

Ishkov, Alexander D., and Nadezhda G. Miloradova. Method for Diagnosing Basic Semantic Attitudes of a Person. Russian Patent RU 2303467, published July 27, 2007.
Ishkov, Alexander D., and Nadezhda G. Miloradova. Psychological Attitudes and Their Diagnosis Using the Semantic Basic Attitudes Questionnaire (SBA). Economics and Entrepreneurship, no. 6-3 (59), 2015, pp. 569-574.
Karasaeva, Aliya M. Social-Psychological Study of Semantic Attitudes Using Two Samples and the SBA Questionnaire. Vestnik of Tver State University. Series: Pedagogy and Psychology, no. 4, 2013, pp. 117-122. ISSN 1999-4133.
Beck, Aaron T., Gary Brown, Robert A. Steer, and Arlene Weissman. Factor Analysis of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale in a Clinical Population. Psychological Assessment, vol. 3, no. 3, 1991, pp. 478-483. 10.1037/1040-3590.3.3.478.

Updated: 2025-10-02