Experiential avoidance / psychological flexibility (AAQ-II)

The Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (Bond, Hayes, Baer et al.) is a key instrument of ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy): it assesses psychological inflexibility / experiential avoidance — the extent to which difficult experiences and memories keep you from living a valued life, and emotions are perceived as a "problem" that must be controlled. The higher the score, the more inflexibility: the person wars with their own feelings instead of living. It's one of the most workable targets of ACT.

Before you start

This assesses psychological inflexibility / experiential avoidance, not "weakness." Avoiding difficult feelings is a natural reaction; the problem begins where so much effort goes into avoidance that it narrows life. The measurement shows how much experiences keep you from living in a way that is valuable to you.