How the 12Axes statements were written
Each of the twelve axes is probed by its own statements, coded in both directions so that agreeing with everything cannot push a score to one end.
Ten statements per axis, five in each direction
The bank holds 120 statements — 10 for each of the twelve axes. Within an axis, half are written so that agreement counts toward the right-hand pole and half so that agreement counts toward the left-hand pole. That balance is the point: a run in which someone agrees with everything still lands near the middle, because the two directions cancel.
A statement is never written to test more than one axis. That is a deliberate limit on what a score can mean: a reading on the economy axis is drawn only from statements about who decides what gets produced, never from statements about, say, national sovereignty.
The three versions draw different numbers of them
The Short version draws 3 statements per axis (36 in total), Standard draws 5 (60) and Deep draws all 10 (120). A longer version does not change what an axis means — it changes how much a single statement can move it.
The subset used by a shorter run is chosen evenly from both directions, so a shorter version cannot be skewed by its own selection.
Statements are interleaved, not grouped
The running order interleaves the axes so that no two consecutive statements probe the same dimension. A visitor therefore cannot see twelve statements about the state before answering any about the economy, which would make the pattern behind the test obvious enough to answer strategically.
Answers are given on a five-point scale: strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, strongly agree. Neutral contributes nothing to either pole.
Also in the method: How a score is calculated · How the library match works · What the test cannot claim.
See it applied to your own answers
The explanation above is what the result page does; taking the test is how to check it.