The Multidimensional Emotion Questionnaire (MEQ): Rationale and Initial Psychometric Properties

Abstract

Emotion research would benefit from a self-report measure that assesses both discrete emotions and broad dimensions, takes into account the time-course of emotional experience, and distinguishes emotional reactivity and regulation. The present study describes the development and psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Emotion Questionnaire (MEQ), which was designed to address these needs. The MEQ assesses: (a) two superordinate dimensions of emotional reactivity (positive and negative), (b) three components of positive and negative emotional reactivity (frequency, intensity, and persistence), and (c) 10 discrete emotions (5 positive: happy, excited, enthusiastic, proud, inspired; 5 negative: sad, afraid, angry, ashamed, anxious). In addition, the MEQ assesses the ability to regulate these emotions. To investigate its psychometric properties, the MEQ was administered to a diverse sample of 309 United States adults (Study 1) along with established measures of emotional experience and regulation. The MEQ was also administered to a sample of 168 undergraduates (Study 2) to examine 3-week test-retest reliability. Results generally support the reliability and validity of the MEQ. Specifically, internal consistencies for all scales range from acceptable to excellent, confirmatory factor analyses support the hypothesized structure, and, with few exceptions, items exhibit hypothesized loadings, and scales exhibit hypothesized associations with each other and with other measures of emotional experience and regulation. In addition, the MEQ demonstrates strong test-retest reliability. The MEQ is likely to be of use to researchers interested in a detailed, reliable, and valid assessment of emotional experience.

Appendix

Multidimensional Emotion Questionnaire

Instructions:

This questionnaire asks about your experience of different emotions such as sad, happy, and afraid. We are interested in assessing four different parts of each emotion. Specifically, for each emotion, you will be asked to rate:

• 1) how often you experience the emotion;

• 2) how intense the emotion typically is when it occurs

• 3) how long-lasting the emotion typically is when it occurs

• 4) how well you can regulate the emotion when it occurs (i.e., how well you can reduce or increase the emotion).

Below are two examples to help you better understand how to rate these four parts of emotion.

If you understood the examples you are now ready to complete the questionnaire. Below are 10 emotions. Please rate each one based on your typical experience of that emotion. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask the experimenter. You may begin when ready.

Happy
1. How Often?	About once per month or less	About once per week	About once each day	2 or 3 times each day	More than 3 times each day
2. How Intense?	Very Low	Low	Moderate	High	Very High
3. How Long-Lasting?	Less than 1 min	1–10 min	11–60 min	1–4 h	Longer than 4 h
4. How Easy to Regulate?	Very Easy	Easy	Moderate	Difficult	Very Difficult
Sad
1. How Often?	About once per month or less	About once per week	About once each day	2 or 3 times each day	More than 3 times each day
2. How Intense?	Very Low	Low	Moderate	High	Very High
3. How Long-Lasting?	Less than 1 min	1–10 min	11–60 min	1–4 h	Longer than 4 h
4. How Easy to Regulate?	Very Easy	Easy	Moderate	Difficult	Very Difficult
Afraid
1. How Often?	About once per month or less	About once per week	About once each day	2 or 3 times each day	More than 3 times each day
2. How Intense?	Very Low	Low	Moderate	High	Very High
3. How Long-Lasting?	Less than 1 min	1–10 min	11–60 min	1–4 h	Longer than 4 h
4. How Easy to Regulate?	Very Easy	Easy	Moderate	Difficult	Very Difficult
Excited
1. How Often?	About once per month or less	About once per week	About once each day	2 or 3 times each day	More than 3 times each day
2. How Intense?	Very Low	Low	Moderate	High	Very High
3. How Long-Lasting?	Less than 1 min	1–10 min	11–60 min	1–4 h	Longer than 4 h
4. How Easy to Regulate?	Very Easy	Easy	Moderate	Difficult	Very Difficult
Angry
1. How Often?	About once per month or less	About once per week	About once each day	2 or 3 times each day	More than 3 times each day
2. How Intense?	Very Low	Low	Moderate	High	Very High
3. How Long-Lasting?	Less than 1 min	1–10 min	11–60 min	1–4 h	Longer than 4 h
4. How Easy to Regulate?	Very Easy	Easy	Moderate	Difficult	Very Difficult
Ashamed
1. How Often?	About once per month or less	About once per week	About once each day	2 or 3 times each day	More than 3 times each day
2. How Intense?	Very Low	Low	Moderate	High	Very High
3. How Long-Lasting?	Less than 1 min	1–10 min	11–60 min	1–4 h	Longer than 4 h
4. How Easy to Regulate?	Very Easy	Easy	Moderate	Difficult	Very Difficult
Enthusiastic
1. How Often?	About once per month or less	About once per week	About once each day	2 or 3 times each day	More than 3 times each day
2. How Intense?	Very Low	Low	Moderate	High	Very High
3. How Long-Lasting?	Less than 1 min	1–10 min	11–60 min	1–4 h	Longer than 4 h
4. How Easy to Regulate?	Very Easy	Easy	Moderate	Difficult	Very Difficult
Proud
1. How Often?	About once per month or less	About once per week	About once each day	2 or 3 times each day	More than 3 times each day
2. How Intense?	Very Low	Low	Moderate	High	Very High
3. How Long-Lasting?	Less than 1 min	1–10 min	11–60 min	1–4 h	Longer than 4 h
4. How Easy to Regulate?	Very Easy	Easy	Moderate	Difficult	Very Difficult
Anxious
1. How Often?	About once per month or less	About once per week	About once each day	2 or 3 times each day	More than 3 times each day
2. How Intense?	Very Low	Low	Moderate	High	Very High
3. How Long-Lasting?	Less than 1 min	1–10 min	11–60 min	1–4 h	Longer than 4 h
4. How Easy to Regulate?	Very Easy	Easy	Moderate	Difficult	Very Difficult
Inspired
1. How Often?	About once per month or less	About once per week	About once each day	2 or 3 times each day	More than 3 times each day
2. How Intense?	Very Low	Low	Moderate	High	Very High
3. How Long-Lasting?	Less than 1 min	1–10 min	11–60 min	1–4 h	Longer than 4 h
4. How Easy to Regulate?	Very Easy	Easy	Moderate	Difficult	Very Difficult