THE MONOTROPISM QUESTIONNAIRE, MAY 2023

The Monotropism Questionnaire

Garau, V., Woods, R., Chown, N., Hallett, S., Murray, F., Wood, R., Murray, A. & Fletcher-
Watson, S.

How to cite: Garau, V., Woods, R., Chown, N., Hallett, S., Murray, F., Wood, R., Murray, A. &
Fletcher-Watson, S. (2023). The Monotropism Questionnaire, Open Science Framework.

DOI: Please check the Open Science Framework website for the DOI for this item and add it
to your citation.

Development: A preprint reporting on initial creation and validation of the measure is

forthcoming. The development study was pre-registered here, and the pre-registration
provides scoring information for the MQ: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/G2NM7

License: This questionnaire is published under a Creative Commons license, CC-BY-NC-SA.

Full text for this license can be found on the Creative Commons website here.

Licensing information: CC BY-NC-SA: This license allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build
upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as
attribution is given to the creator. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license
the modified material under identical terms. 

CC BY-NC-SA includes the following elements:

BY  – Credit must be given to the creator
NC  – Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted
SA  – Adaptations must be shared under the same terms

This means: 
1. People can download the MQ, print multiple copies for free, use it in studies, and also adapt it =
e.g. make an observer-report version, make a version on their own Qualtrics page. 
2. Anyone using the original or an adapted version has to credit the original and the authors of the
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Please scroll to the next page for the text of The Monotropism Questionnaire.

Note. Reverse scored items are marked with * and this asterisk should be removed before
administration so respondents are not alerted to this.
 THE MONOTROPISM QUESTIONNAIRE, MAY 2023
2
Please read the statements below and indicate to what extent you agree or disagree with

them.

Strongly Disagree Neither Agree Strongly Not

disagree agree Agree applicable
nor
disagree

After a period of instability, I need a o o o o o o

quiet and predictable environment.

I need a quiet and predictable o o o o o o

environment for me to switch from one
task to another easily.
I often struggle to concentrate in busy o o o o o o
and/or unpredictable environments.

I find sudden unexpected disruptions to o o o o o o

my attention startling.

It's distressing to be unexpectedly pulled o o o o o o

away from something I'm engaged in.

I rarely find simultaneously holding eye o o o o o o

contact and making a verbal
conversation with another person
uncomfortable. *
I often notice details that others do not. o o o o o o
Involvement in an activity of interest o o o o o o
often reduces my anxiety level.

I find social interactions more o o o o o o

comfortable if communicating about a
topic of interest to me.
I am often totally focused on activities I o o o o o o
am passionate about, to the point I am
unaware of other events.
I can get quite good at something even if o o o o o o
I'm not especially interested in it. *

I often lose sense of time when engaging o o o o o o

in activities I am passionate about.
 THE MONOTROPISM QUESTIONNAIRE, MAY 2023
3

I sometimes avoid talking because I o o o o o o

cannot reliably predict how others will
react, especially strangers.
I tend to do activities because I find o o o o o o
them interesting, instead of due to
societal expectations.
I rarely find social situations chaotic. * o o o o o o

I don't mind if someone interrupts me o o o o o o

when I'm in the middle of an activity. *

When I'm working on something, I'm o o o o o o

open to helpful suggestions.*

I often find it difficult to switch topics o o o o o o

after engaging in an activity for a long
time.
I often engage in activities I am o o o o o o
passionate about to escape from
anxiety.
Routines provide an important source of o o o o o o
stability and safety.

I manage uncertainty by creating o o o o o o

routines.

I often experience anxiety over matters I o o o o o o

have little certainty over.

I find it difficult to engage in a task of no o o o o o o

interest to me even if it is important.

I often find engaging in stimming (e.g., o o o o o o

fidgeting, rocking) to be relaxing.

I am usually passionate about a few o o o o o o

topics at any one time in my life.

I have trouble filtering out sounds when o o o o o o

I am not doing something I'm focused
on.
I usually mean what I say and no more o o o o o o
than that.
 THE MONOTROPISM QUESTIONNAIRE, MAY 2023
4

I often engage in lengthy discussions on o o o o o o

topics I find interesting even though my
conversational partner(s) do not.
I sometimes accidentally say something o o o o o o
others find offensive/ rude when I am
focused on a task.
I can sometimes be very distressed by a o o o o o o
topic that others think of as trivial.

I find it easy to keep up with group o o o o o o

discussions where everyone is speaking.
*
Often when I am focused on activities, I o o o o o o
do not notice I am thirsty or hungry.

Often when I am focused on activities, I

o o o o o o
do not notice I need the bathroom.

When there is a lot of information to o o o o o o

consider, I often struggle to make a
decision.
Sometimes making a decision is so hard I o o o o o o
get physically stuck.

I sometimes focus on an incident for a o o o o o o

substantial time (days) after the event.

I sometimes become highly anxious by o o o o o o

focusing on the many possible situations
that might occur at a future event.
Sometimes when I am focused on an o o o o o o
activity, I do not recall all the
information I might need to make good
decisions.
People tell me I get fixated on things. o o o o o o

I find a problem I can't solve distressing o o o o o o

and/or hard to put down.

I tend to feel quite self-conscious unless o o o o o o

I'm deeply absorbed in a task.

I often get stuck thinking about all the o o o o o o

possibilities that might come out of a
 THE MONOTROPISM QUESTIONNAIRE, MAY 2023
5

decision.
When I am interested in something, I o o o o o o
tend to be passionate about it.

When I am interested in a topic, I like to o o o o o o

learn everything I can about that topic.

I am still fascinated by many of the o o o o o o

things I was interested in when I was
much younger.
I rarely find myself getting stuck in loops o o o o o o
of thought. *

I often loop back to previous thoughts. o o o o o o