The Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) – Free Online

The MAAS is an instrument that measures people’s tendency to be mindful of
moment to moment experience. It consists of 15 items. I recommend to have at least 3 minutes of your time and silent, comfortable place. Thus, the instrument focuses on the presence or absence of attention and awareness of what occurs in the present. The Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale has been shown to relate to various aspects of well-being and to how effectively people deal with stressful life events.

Instructions:

Below is a collection of statements about your everyday experience. Please indicate how frequently or infrequently you currently have each experience. Try to answer according to what really reflects your experience rather than what you think your experience should be. Don’t forget to treat each item separately from every other item.

0%

The Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS)

1. I could be experiencing some emotion and not be conscious of it until some time later

2. I break or spill things because of carelessness, not paying attention, or thinking of something else

3. I find it difficult to stay focused on what’s happening in the present

4. I tend to walk quickly to get where I’m going without paying attention to what I experience along the way.

5. I tend not to notice feelings of physical tension or discomfort until they really grab my attention

6. I forget a person’s name almost as soon as I’ve been told it for the first time

7. It seems I am “running on automatic,” without much awareness of what I’m doing

8. I rush through activities without being really attentive to them

9. I get so focused on the goal I want to achieve that I lose touch with what I’m doing right now to get there

10. I do jobs or tasks automatically, without being aware of what I'm doing

11. I find myself listening to someone with one ear, doing something else at the same time

12. I drive places on ‘automatic pilot’ and then wonder why I went there

13. I find myself preoccupied with the future or the past

14. I find myself doing things without paying attention

15. I snack without being aware that I’m eating

Reference:
Brown, K. W. & Ryan, R. M. (2003). The benefits of being present: Mindfulness
and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
84(4), 822-848.

Leave a Comment