7 Gratitude Questionnaires and Scales That Scientists Use

The Gratitude Questionnaire (McCullough, Emmons, & Tsang, 2002) GQ-6 scale is one of the most frequently used assessments in gratitude. Skiptocontent Home Blog Store Team Contact LogIn KellyMiller,BA,CAPP 7 04-02-2022 Arehappypeoplegrateful?Oraregratefulpeoplehappy?ThisdebatehasbeenpresentsincethetimeofSocrates.Studieshaveshownthatgratitudeisgoodforbothyourmentalandphysicalhealth. Whatwedon’tknowiswhypeoplewaittoimprovewell-beingwithanintentionalimprovementofthepracticeofgratitude. Studiesshowthattheconnectionofgratitudetophysicalwell-beingisvital.Onestudy,inparticular,showedthatgratitudeisgoodforyourheart(Millsetal.,2015).Gratitudelowersbloodpressure,decreasesstress,andimprovessleep.Otherstudieshaveshownthatasuccessfulpracticeingratitudecanlessensymptomsofdepressionandanxiety.Improvementsingratitudeimprovehumans. Beingawareofone’slevelofgratitudecouldbethestartinglineforsomeoneracingtowardimprovedwell-being.Gratefulpeoplearelessinclinedtofeelresentmentandenvy.Thehighertheleveloftheexperienceofgratitudeasanemotion,themorelikelytheinstanceofhigherlevelsofpositiveaffect. Positiveemotionsbroadenandenabletheopportunitytobuild.Gratitudeisadispositionthatallowsotherstoimprove,aswell.Perspective-takingandcareforothersimprovewhenanintentionalshifttowardgratitudeistaken.Let’sexplorehowwecanstarttomeasuregratitude. Beforeyoucontinue,wethoughtyoumightliketodownloadourthreeGratitudeExercisesforfree.Thesedetailed,science-basedexerciseswillhelpyouoryourclientsconnecttomorepositiveemotionsandenjoythebenefitsofgratitude. Thisarticlecontains: HowCanWeBestMeasureGratitude? TheGratitudeQuestionnaire ALookattheValidityofGratitudeScales 5MoreUsefulAssessmentsandScales ATake-HomeMessage References HowCanWeBestMeasureGratitude? Whenbeginninganexerciseroutine,onemightwantabaselinefromwhichtostarttheirfitnessimprovement.Startingapracticeofgratitudeshouldbenodifferent.Knowingone’scurrentlevelofgratitudegivesthissametypeofbaselinefromwhichtostriveforimprovement.Gratitudeisalifestyle,andpracticingbuildsthementalmusclesthatshowupaspositiveemotions. Sowheredoesgratitudebegin?Anin-depthstudyofthedevelopmentofgratitudeinchildren(Hussongetal.,2019)gavegreatinsightintothecomplexityoftheconstructofgratitude.Studiesinadultgratitudehavebeenmoreplentiful,butmeasuresinchildrenseeamuch-neededexpansion.Inkids,measuringthedifferencebetweenconcretegratitudeandconnectivegratitudeisfoundational. Measuringgratitudeinchildrenprovestobeadifficulttask,asearlyagesshowdifferencesintheexperienceofthetrait.Knowingwhethertheexpressionofgratitudeis“felt”bytheparticipantsischallenging.Childrenarelearningsocialconformityandmannerstaughtbytheirparentalguides.Gratitude,asatrait,growslikeothercognitivecomponentsthatpresentasmovingtargetsinmeasurement. Whenconsideringselfandparentalreportsrelevanttochildren’sgratitude,thefollowingneedtoalsobemeasured;empathy,positiveaffect,prosocialbehavior,socialcompetence,andemotionalunderstanding.Thereisagreatdealofconfirmationbiaswhenparentsself-reportandchildrendonotalwayshavetheverbalabilitytoaccuratelyself-reporttheseareaseither. Awarenessoftheneedtoexpandmeasuresofgratitudeasatraitinchildrenisanexcitingandexpansiveareaofgrowthinthefield.Measuringgratitudeinadultshashadamorerobusthistory.WorkbyWatkins,McCullough,andAlleva,amongmanymoreresearchers,hasexpandedtheabilitytomeasuretraitgratitude,especiallyinadults.Theseassessmentsandscalesarediscussedandlinkedinasectionbelow. Asconceptualizationofgratitudevariesamongresearchers,abroaderscaleformeasurementwasproposed(Morgan,Gulliford,&Kristjánsson,2017).TheMulti-ComponentGratitudeMeasureseekstoidentifymorethanpreviousmeasureshavedone.Thismeasuresthevirtueofgratitudein4differentcomponents: Understandingofgratitude Emotionsofgratitude Attitudestowardgratitude,and Behaviorsofgratitude. Adeeperunderstandingofgratitudeanditsplaceinvariousculturesisimportant.Asgratitudeissubjective,soisitsutilizationacrossdifferentgroupsofpeople.Studyingthiscomponentwillhelpresearchersfurtherunderstandtheinfluenceofcultureongratitudedisposition. Gratitudeasanemotionisbeingmeasuredtounderstandthespiritualaspectsoftheconstructbetter.Merelystating“thankyou”isnotenoughtopracticethestatethatimproveswell-being(connectivegratitude).Understandingaweanditscontributionarealsoimportant. Attitudestowardgratitudeareimportantbecausetheyaredevelopedsubjectivelythroughoutone’slifespan.Inherently,childrenaremoreapttoexpressgratitudewithoutprompting,whichisinteresting.Welearnthe‘how’aswedevelopbutknowingthatappreciationforoneanothermaybeinstinctualisfascinating. Behaviorsofgratitudearewherepowerfulinterventionscanbeforged.Humansreactdifferentlytorequiredandencouragedbehaviors.Themorechoicesonehastopracticegratitude,themorelikelytheyaretomakethatchoicetocontinueminingforappreciation. Asfurtherresearchonthetopicofgratitudeisperformed,morescaleswillbedeveloped.Itisarapidlygrowingareaofstudy.Knowingtheimportanceofgratitudeandappreciationinthementalandphysicalwell-beingofhumansmakesimprovementcrucialtoculturalandinterpersonaldevelopment.   TheGratitudeQuestionnaire TheGratitudeQuestionnaire(McCullough,Emmons,&Tsang,2002)GQ-6scaleisoneofthemostfrequentlyusedassessmentsingratitude.Itwasinitiallydevelopedforuseinresearchtomeasurepeople’sexperienceofgratitudeasanemotionoraffect.Thescoringandnormsshowedvariousrangesoftheexperience. Thistoolisaself-reportquestionnairethatmeasuresthetendencytorecognize,respond,andexperiencegratitude.Participantsrespondbasedona7-pointLikertscalethatrangesfrom(1)stronglydisagreeto(7)stronglyagree.Therearetwonegativelyformulateditemsthatarereversecoded.Thescoresrangefrom6-42,thehighernumbersbeingcorrelatedwithhighergratitudedisposition. Thisquestionnairemeasuresintensity,frequency,span,anddensityofgratitudeasanemotion.Withinthesefourfacets,apersonwhoexperiencestheseinhighernumberselicitsmoregratitudeasanaffectivestate.Thistypeofdispositionpresentsinhigherlevelsofself-reportedlifesatisfaction. TheGQ-6hasbeenusedinmanyresearchendeavors,includingsomethathavequestionedthedifferencebetweengratitudeinadultsvs.children.Ithasbeentranslatedintomanylanguagesandhasproventocontinuevalidityinmeasurementaftertranslation. Knowingwheretostartone’spracticeofgratitudewillimprovethelikelihoodofcontinuedpracticeifgoalsaresetinplace.Puttingmeasurementtothispracticemakesthatgoalmeasurableaswell.Settingatimeframeforimprovementinthepracticealsogivesapractitioneraplacetostriveforintheirdailypractice.   ALookattheValidityofGratitudeScales Gratitudeisauniquetrait.Studiesshowthatpeoplewithself-reportedhigherlevelsofsatisfactionwithlifearecorrelatedwiththepresenceofgratitudeasanaffectivestate(Wood,Joseph,&Maltby,2008). Inotherwords,peoplewhocanfeelgratituderegularly,aremoresatisfiedwiththeirlives.Satisfactionwithlifecanexistwithouttheaffectivestateofgratitude,buttypically,thisoccurswhenasuccessfulpersonhasnoconceptofthatsuccessbeingattributedtoanythingexternal. Measuringgratitudeshowsasortofmoralbarometer.Whenhigherlevelsofgratitudearepresent,themorelikelysomeoneistocometotheaidofanother.Manystudieshavebeendoneinrecentyears,showingtherelationshipofgratitudewhilecontrollingfortheBigFiveofpersonalityextraversion,agreeableness,openness,conscientiousness,andneuroticism.It’sreasonablyintuitivewithwhichofthesefivegratitudelinkswell. Continuedresearchingratitudeshowsthatwellbeingisimprovedwherehigherlevelsofgratitudeexist.Thescalesthatareutilizedinthesestudiesareprovidingresearcherswithabetterunderstandingoftherolethatgratitudeplaysinthesubjectivewell-beingofhumans.Relationshipsandorganizationalbehaviorarekeyareasofculturalimprovementconcerninggratituderesearch. Criticismofthesescalescouldbeargued,asnotfactoringinvarianceamongstraceandsocio-economicpopulations.Asmallerportionofpopulationshasbeenstudiedsimplyduetotheaccesstoawidervarietyofstudyparticipants.Adeeperunderstandingofhowgratitudescalesmeasuresubjectivewell-beingacrosspopulationdifferencesiswarranted. Thereisalsoresearchinthevalidityofadultscalesbeingusedtomeasuregratitudeinyouth.AllthreemajorscalesGQ-6,GRAT(shortform),andtheGACwerefoundtoshowconsistentvalidityamongyouthasappropriatemeasuresforassessinglevelsofgratitude(Frohetal.,2011). Researchhasshownthathigherlevelsofgratitudearerelatedtoimprovedsocialintegrationandachievementinlateradolescence.Havingvalidmeasurestoimprovegratitudeinterventionsinyouthpopulationsisvital. ADutchstudyofthevalidationinthetranslationoftheGQ6andGRATscaleswasdoneinrecentyears(Jans-Beken,Lataster,Leontjevas,&Jacobs,2015).Itprovedthevalidityofthescalesaftertranslationtoaccountforsocioeconomicstatusandculturalaccommodation.Thistranslationhasshownthatgratitudeisauniversallanguage.Similarstudiesweredoneinthesecountries:Taiwan,Turkey,Japan,SouthKorea,andseveralothers. TheBASandtheFAShavebeenvalidatedinvariouscountries.Theneedforfurtherresearchinappreciationandgratitudeconcerningbodyimageiswarranted.Withimprovementinappreciationforfunctionality,improvementsinself-careandbodyimagearepossible. Adeeperunderstandingoftheseconceptswillaidresearchersindevelopinginterventions.Theseinterventionsingratitudewillhelppractitionerstoimprovetheirwell-beingbyutilizingtheknowledgegainedinmeasuringthesekeyconcepts.Anyimprovementintheseconceptshelpstogainprogressinthefieldofgratituderesearch.   5MoreUsefulAssessmentsandScales 1.GratitudeResentmentandAppreciationTest TheGRATorGratitudeResentmentandAppreciationTestwasdevelopedtomeasuresomeone’sdispositionalgratitude.Therearethreedifferentversionsofthistest.Watkinsfirstcreateditin2003. This44-questionscaleisbasedontheexistenceof3distinctcharacteristicsofagratefulindividual.Thefirstisthelackofasenseofdeprivation.Thesecondisatendencytoappreciatesimplepleasures.Thethirdisthetendencytoappreciatethecontributionofotherstoone’swell-beingandtheabilitytoexpressthatgratitudetoothers. Therevisedversion(whichisashort-form)ofthisscaleisashortercollectionof16itemswithaLikert-styleresponse.Themeasurehasshowngoodreliability,validity,andconsistency.ThescalecanbeusedinawidevarietyofinterventionsandresearchactivitiesandcanbefoundinourPositivePsychologytoolkit.   2.GratitudeAdjectiveScale ThegratitudeadjectivescaleorGAChasbeenusedtoinvestigatethesubjectofgratitudefurther.Itmeasures,overtime,thesubjectiveexperienceofgratitude.Increasedawarenessofstatesofgratitudecanhelpincreaselevelsoflifesatisfaction. Utilizingthisscalegivespractitionerstheabilitytoseethechangethatagratitudepracticehasoverpositiveemotionsoversometime.Bytrackingandimprovingawareness,practitionerscanseetheimprovementinreal-time.Whenseeingpositiveresults,apersonwouldbemorelikelytogrowandcontinuethepractice.   3.AppreciationScale Hereisanotherscience-basedquiztoassessyourlevelofgratitude.ThisquizwascreatedfortheGreaterGoodMagazinefromthescaledevelopedbypsychologistsMitchellAdlerandNancyFagley. TheAppreciationScalewascreatedin2005hasbeenutilizedinresearchtoshowtheimportanceofthefeelingofappreciationanditsrelationshipwithimprovedwell-being.Theassumptionintheuseofthisscaleisthatappreciationsubsumesgratitude. Thisscalecontainseightsubclassesthatcoversthevariousareasofappreciationincluding:“have”focus,awe,ritual,presentmoment,self/socialcomparison,gratitude,loss/adversity,andinter-personalappreciation.   4.FunctionalityAppreciationScale(FAS) TheFASorFunctionalityAssessmentisusedininterventionsforpeoplewithdifficultieswithbodyimage(Alleva,Tylka,&VanDiest,2017).Abetterappreciationforthefunctionalityofone’sbody,inadditiontoabetterunderstandingoftheeffectthatappearancehasonthatperception,ishelpfulforsomeoneimprovinglevelsofself-care. Culturalunderstandingofbodyimageandtheroleofappreciationinthatrespectisexpandinginresearch.Thescaleisseenbelow. Pleaseindicatetheextenttowhichyouagreewitheachofthefollowingstatements: Stronglydisagree Disagree Neitheragreenordisagree Agree Stronglyagree Iappreciatemybodyforwhatitiscapableofdoing. Iamgratefulforthehealthofmybody,evenifitisn’talwaysashealthyasIwouldlikeittobe. Iappreciatethatmybodyallowsmetocommunicateandinteractwithothers. Iacknowledgeandappreciateitwhenmybodyfeelsgoodandrelaxed. IamgratefulthatmybodyenablesmetoengageinactivitiesthatIenjoyorfindimportant. Ifeelthatmybodydoessomuchforme. Irespectmybodyforthefunctionsthatitperforms.   5.BodyAppreciationScale TheBASorBodyAppreciationScaleisanothermeasureofbodyimage.Thescalehasbeenadaptedinmanylanguagesandutilizedtostudybodyimageandculturalinfluenceinmanycountries.Abetterunderstandingoftheappreciationforone’sbody,thehigherthepredictionofbehaviorsthatcanbecomeproblematicinvariouspopulations. Utilizationofthisscaleisastrengths-basedapproach.Peoplesufferingfrombodyimagedifficultiesbecomemoreawareoftheirperspective.Theirappreciationfortheirbodydecreasesproblematicbehaviorswhenpairedwithappropriateinterventionstrategies.   ATake-HomeMessage Knowingthatthespiritualprinciplesembodiedbyancientphilosophersandleadershaverootinscienceisexciting.Asweknowthatgratitudeincreasesimmuneresponse,lowershypertension,lowersratesofdepressionandanxiety,andpromoteshappiness.Gratitudecanbeusedasaninterventiontoenhancewell-being.Knowingwhereyoucurrentlyrateonyourlevelsofgratitudecanhelptoseewhereyouneedtoimprove. Gratitudeislikeamuscle.Themoreyoupracticeit,thestrongeritbecomes.Itcanbecomeawayoflifetakingrootinallaspectsofhowonespendstheirdays.Itisnotatooltobeusedtojustifynarcissisticbehavior,butratheraconnectiveforcetouniteonewiththerealitythathumansareinterconnected.Weworktogethertoimprovetheworldaroundus. Startanintentionalpracticebyutilizingoneofthesescalestoself-assessyourcurrentgratitudelevel.Then,improvethepracticefromthatbaseline.Recordthepositiveemotionsthatfollowtheintentionalpractice.Observeasthingsbegintoshiftinyourwell-being. Thanksforreading! Wehopeyouenjoyedreadingthisarticle.Don’tforgettodownloadourthreeGratitudeExercisesforfree. References Alleva,J.M.,Tylka,T.L.,&VanDiest,A.M.K.(2017).TheFunctionalityAppreciationScale(FAS):DevelopmentandpsychometricevaluationinUScommunitywomenandmen. BodyImage, 23,28-44. Froh,J.J.,Fan,J.,Emmons,R.A.,Bono,G.,Huebner,E.S.,&Watkins,P.(2011).Measuringgratitudeinyouth:Assessingthepsychometricpropertiesofadultgratitudescalesinchildrenandadolescents.PsychologicalAssessment,23(2),311-324. Hussong,A.M.,Langley,H.A.,Thomas,T.E.,Coffman,J.L.,Halberstadt,A.G.,Costanzo,P.R.,&Rothenberg,W.A.(2019).Measuringgratitudeinchildren. TheJournalofPositivePsychology, 14(5),563-575. Jans-Beken,L.,Lataster,J.,Leontjevas,R.,&Jacobs,N.(2015).Measuringgratitude:AcomparativevalidationoftheDutchgratitudequestionnaire(GQ6)andshortgratitude,resentment,andappreciationtest(SGRAT).PsychologicaBelgica, 55(1),19-31. McCullough,M.E.,Emmons,R.A.,&Tsang,J.A.(2002).Thegratefuldisposition:Aconceptualandempiricaltopography.JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology, 82(1),112-127. Mills,P.J.,Redwine,L.,Wilson,K.,Pung,M.A.,Chinh,K.,Greenberg,B.H.,…Chopra,D.(2015).Theroleofgratitudeinspiritualwell-beinginasymptomaticheartfailurepatients.SpiritualityinClinicalPractice,2(1),5-17. Morgan,B.,Gulliford,L.,&Kristjánsson,K.(2017).Anewapproachtomeasuringmoralvirtues:TheMulti-ComponentGratitudeMeasure.PersonalityandIndividualDifferences,107,179-189. Wood,A.M.,Joseph,S.,&Maltby,J.(2008).Gratitudeuniquelypredictssatisfactionwithlife:Incrementalvalidityabovethedomainsandfacetsofthefivefactormodel.PersonalityandIndividualDifferences,45(1),49-54. Howusefulwasthisarticletoyou? Notusefulatall Veryuseful 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Submit Sharethisarticle: PleaseletusknowwhatwecanimproveCAPTCHANameThisfieldisforvalidationpurposesandshouldbeleftunchanged. AbouttheAuthor KellyMillerisagraduateoftheFlourishingCenter’sCAPPprogramandpublishedauthorofJane'sWorryElephant.SheiscurrentlytheownerofABrighterPurpose,LLC,aproviderinpositivepsychologycoachingservices.Whensheisn’tgleefullyhelpinghumansmovetowardflourishing,sheenjoysNationalParkhikesandspendingqualitytimewithheradventurousfamily. Comments Shah on18October2021at14:57 CanweuseGQ-6forinresearchstudy? Reply NicoleCelestine,Ph.D. on20October2021at12:14 HiShah, Yes,thisscaleisfreelyavailabletouseforresearch. –Nicole|CommunityManager Reply CHAKRAR.PRABAKARAN on29August2020at14:07 HappytoknowaboutyourworkinGratitude.LookingforwardKelly, FormoreinteractionsregardingGratitude. Thanks&Regards CHAKRAR.PRABAKARAN Reply AnnMarieFinch on28June2020at15:48 ThankyouKelly! Veryconciseandeasytounderstand! Reply NicoleCelestine on29June2020at03:58 HiAnnMarie, Gladyoufoundthisposthelpful!Thanksforreading. –Nicole|CommunityManager Reply ImeldaBishop on5May2020at18:58 Yes,IwasnotsurprisedforthequizresultsIgotfromlevelofgratitude.IknowwhoIamandhowIeventuallygrewuptobespiritualratherthanreligious,whichIbelieveitrangedtotheextremeatanearlierageinmylife.Anywaythankyouforthefreequizzes.Kindregards. Reply JofeMarieMaurillo-Garvez on5May2020at18:38 Thankyouforthis.Pls.continuesharingandhelpingpeople.Godbless. 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