The Self-Regulation Questionnaires

Scale Description | Academic | Prosocial | Health Care | Learning | Exercise | Religion | Friendship

Download the full packet for the Self-Regulation Questionnaires in a Word file

Learning Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ-L)

This questionnaire concerns the reasons why people learn in particular settings such as a college or medical school course. Whereas the Academic Self-Regulation Questionnaire is for use with children, the Learning Self-Regulation Questionnaire is for older students. It asks three questions about why people engage in learning-related behaviors. This questionnaire was formed with just two subscales: Controlled Regulation and Autonomous Regulation. Thus, the responses that are provided are either controlled (i.e., external or introjected regulation) or autonomous (identified regulation or intrinsic motivation). Because the scale was designed to have just the two "super" categories of regulation, there was no attempt to have the same number of items from each regulatory style (e.g., identified and intrinsic), and there was no psychometric work done on the individual regulatory styles. The validation was done only at the level of the two "super" categories.

The scale, which is presented below in two slightly different versions, was developed for use in a study conducted in a medical school course referred to as Organ Systems, in which students learn to do medical interviewing (Williams & Deci, 1996). It is the first of the two versions presented. The scale was adapted slightly for college students learning organic chemistry (Black & Deci, 2000), and that version is presented second. It is essentially the same scale, although two items were dropped for the sake of brevity. The questionnaire can be adapted as needed to refer to the particular course or program being studied. Following each version of the scale is information about scoring it.

The Scale

Learning Questionnaire

The following questions relate to your reasons for participating in the interviewing class. Different people have different reasons for participating in such a class, and we want to know how true each of these reasons is for you. There are three groups of items, and those in each group pertain to the sentence that begins that group. Please indicate how true each reason is for you using the following scale:

1. I will participate actively in the organ systems classes:
   
   
   1. Because I feel like it's a good way to improve my skills and my understanding of patients.
      
      
   2. Because others would think badly of me if I didn't.
      
      
   3. Because learning to interview well is an important part of becoming a doctor.
      
      
   4. Because I would feel bad about myself if I didn't study this approach.
      
      
   
   
   
2. I am likely to follow my instructor's suggestions for interviewing:
   
   
   5. Because I would get a good grade if I do what he/she suggests.
      
      
   6. Because I believe my instructor's suggestions will help me interview effectively.
      
      
   7. Because I want others to think that I am a good interviewer.
      
      
   8. Because it's easier to do what I'm told than to think about it.
      
      
   9. Because it's important to me to do well at this.
      
      
   10. Because I would probably feel guilty if I didn't comply with my instructor's suggestions.
       
       
   
   
   
3. The reason that I will continue to broaden my interviewing skills is:
   
   
   11. Because it's exciting to try new ways to work interpersonally with my patients.
       
       
   12. Because I would feel proud if I did continued to improve at interviewing.
       
       
   13. Because it's a challenge to really understand what the patient is experiencing.
       
       
   14. Because it's interesting to use the interview to try to identify what disease the patient has.
       
       

    

Scoring information for this SRQ-L (interviewing).

Begin by calculating the two subscale scores by averaging the items on that subscale. They are:

Autonomous Regulation: 1, 3, 6, 9, 11, 13, 14

Controlled Regulation: 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12

In past studies, the alpha reliabilities for these two subscales have been approximately 0.75 for controlled regulation and 0.80 for autonomous regulation. Analyses can be done with the two separate subscales, or a Relative Autonomy Index can be formed by subtracting the controlled subscale score from the autonomous subscale score.

Reasons for Learning Questionnaire

The following questions relate to your reasons for participating actively in your organic chemistry class. Different people have different reasons for their participation in such a class, and we want to know how true each of the reasons is for you. Please use the following scale to indicate how true each reason is for you:

1. I will participate actively in organic chemistry:
   
   
   1. Because I feel like its a good way to improve my understanding of the material.
      
      
   2. Because others might think badly of me if I didn't.
      
      
   3. Because I would feel proud of myself if I did well in the course.
      
      
   4. Because a solid understanding of chemistry is important to my intellectual growth.
      
      
   
   
   
2. I am likely to follow my instructor's suggestions for studying chemistry:
   
   
   5. Because I would get a bad grade if I didn't do what he/she suggests.
      
      
   6. Because I am worried that I am not going to perform well in the course.
      
      
   7. Because its easier to follow his/her suggestions than come up with my own study strategies.
      
      
   8. Because he/she seems to have insight about how best to learn the material.
      
      
   
   
   
3. The reason that I will work to expand my knowledge of chemistry is:
   
   
   9. Because its interesting to learn more about the nature of chemistry.
      
      
   10. Because its a challenge to really understand how to solve chemistry problems.
       
       
   11. Because a good grade in chemistry will look positive on my record.
       
       
   12. Because I want others to see that I am intelligent.
       
       

Scoring information for this SRQ-L (chemistry).

Begin by calculating the two subscale scores by averaging the items on that subscale. They are:

Autonomous Regulation: 1, 4, 8, 9, 10

Controlled Regulation: 2, 3, 5, 6, 7,11,12

In past studies, the alpha reliabilities for these two subscales have been approximately 0.75 for controlled regulation and 0.80 for autonomous regulation. Analyses can be done with the two separate subscales, or a Relative Autonomy Index can be formed by subtracting the controlled subscale score from the autonomous subscale score.

References concerning the SRQ-L

Black, A. E., & Deci, E. L. (2000). The effects of instructors' autonomy support and students' autonomous motivation on learning organic chemistry: A self-determination theory perspective. Science Education, 84, 740-756.
Download this article in .pdf format (for Personal Use Only)

Williams, G. C., & Deci, E. L. (1996). Internalization of biopsychosocial values by medical students: A test of self-determination theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 767-779.
Download this article in .pdf format (for Personal Use Only)

An alternative questionnaire. Robert J. Vallerand, University of Quebec at Montreal (e-mail: vallerand.robert_j@uqam.ca ) and his associates have developed an additional assessment device for measuring motivation for learning at the high school and college levels. Referred to as the Academic Motivation Scale it is available in both English and French. The relevant references are:

Vallerand, R. J., Pelletier, L. G., Blais, M. R., Briere, N. M., Senecal, C., & Vallieres, E. F. (1992). The Academic Motivation Scale: A measure of intrinsic, extrinsic, and amotivation in education. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 52, 1003-1017.

Vallerand, R. J., Blais, M. R., Briere, N. M., & Pelletier, L. G. (1989). Construction et validation de L'Echelle de Motivation en Education (EME). Canadian Journal of Behavioural Sciences, 21, 323-349.

Next: Exercise >