The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale measures your self-reported tendency to be attentive to present-moment experience. It is for educational and self-reflection purposes only — not a clinical assessment. Mindfulness is a skill that can be developed with practice. If you are experiencing significant distress, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988).
The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) measures how frequently you operate on automatic pilot versus being fully present in your daily life. Developed by Brown and Ryan (2003), it is one of the most validated measures of dispositional mindfulness — your natural tendency to pay attention to the present moment.
Mindfulness Assessment (MAAS)
15 questions — rate how frequently each experience occurs in your daily life
How to Use the MAAS Mindfulness Assessment
The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) was developed by psychologists Kirk Warren Brown and Richard M. Ryan and published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 2003. Unlike scales that measure meditation experience or Buddhist concepts, the MAAS focuses on a single core construct: how often you are fully attentive to what you are doing and experiencing right now, versus operating on automatic pilot.
Step 1: Rate Each of the 15 Items
Each item describes a common experience of inattention or automatic behavior — like eating without noticing the taste, driving and suddenly realizing you don't remember the last few miles, or rushing through activities without really being present. Rate how frequently each experience occurs in your daily life on a 6-point scale from Almost Always (1) to Almost Never (6).
Step 2: Understanding Your Score
Because all 15 items describe inattentive or automatic behavior, lower frequency = higher mindfulness. The scale averages your 15 ratings (1-6), so scores closer to 6.0 mean you rarely operate on autopilot and are generally very present. Research by Brown and Ryan found mean scores of approximately 3.83 in general adult populations. People who meditate regularly typically score significantly higher.
Step 3: Use Your Score to Guide Practice
Scores above 4.5 suggest strong present-moment awareness — you are often fully engaged with what you are doing. Scores of 3.5-4.5 indicate moderate mindfulness, consistent with most adults. Scores below 3.5 suggest frequent autopilot behavior — not a problem or a flaw, just an opportunity. Research consistently shows that mindfulness can be trained relatively quickly. As little as 8 weeks of mindfulness practice has been shown to significantly increase MAAS scores.
Why Mindfulness Matters
Higher dispositional mindfulness is associated with greater psychological well-being, lower anxiety and depression, better emotional regulation, and more satisfying relationships. It is not about having a blank mind — it is about being awake to your actual experience, moment to moment, without being swept away by habitual reactions. The MAAS is one of the most validated measures of this quality and is sensitive to change with practice.
FAQ
Is this mindfulness assessment free?
Yes, completely free. No signup, account, or email required. The test runs in your browser and results are calculated instantly without any data leaving your device.
Is my data private?
Yes. Everything runs locally in your browser. Your answers are never sent to a server or stored anywhere — not even in your browser's local storage. Results are shown only for the current session.
What is the MAAS scale?
The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) was developed by Kirk Warren Brown and Richard M. Ryan and published in 2003 in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. It is a 15-item scale measuring the frequency of present-moment, non-judgmental awareness in daily life.
How is the MAAS scored?
Each item is rated on a 6-point frequency scale from Almost Always (1) to Almost Never (6). All items describe inattentive or automatic behavior, so lower frequency of such behavior means higher mindfulness. Your score is the average of all 15 item ratings, ranging from 1.0 to 6.0.
What does my score mean compared to other people?
Research by Brown and Ryan (2003) found a mean score of approximately 3.83 among general adult samples. Scores above 4.0 suggest above-average present-moment awareness. Scores below 3.5 suggest more frequent mindless automatic behavior. The population comparison bar shows where your score falls.
Can mindfulness be improved?
Yes — and extensively so. Mindfulness is a trainable skill. Regular mindfulness meditation (even 10 minutes daily), mindful breathing exercises, body scans, and mindful walking have all been shown in research to increase MAAS scores and other measures of mindful awareness within weeks.
What is the difference between mindfulness and meditation?
Mindfulness is a quality of attention — present-moment, non-judgmental awareness. Meditation is one of the most reliable methods for cultivating mindfulness, but mindfulness can also be practiced informally throughout daily life: mindful eating, mindful listening, mindful movement. The MAAS measures dispositional mindfulness — your general tendency to be aware in daily life, not just during formal meditation.