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Emotion Regulation Questionnaire

ERQ
psychologysocial sciencesFree for research use

Permission: Free for research use. Free for non-commercial academic research, with no licence fee. Cite the original publication.

A 10-item self-report measure of habitual cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression as emotion-regulation strategies.

Items
10
Response format
7-point Likert scale
Version
Original 10-item ERQ
Subscales
2

Ready-to-cite methods sentence

Habitual emotion regulation was assessed with the 10-item Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ; Gross & John, 2003), which yields separate Cognitive Reappraisal and Expressive Suppression scores (original-study α = .79 and .73, respectively).

Citing this in a methods section? See the APA 7 guide (Author–date citations for psychology and the social sciences). Or compare all six citation styles.

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Reliability & validation

Validation population
Undergraduate validation samples (Gross & John, 2003)
Test–retest
0.69
Cronbach's α
0.73–0.79

Subscales

Cognitive ReappraisalExpressive Suppression

Response anchors

Strongly disagree · 2 · 3 · Neutral · 5 · 6 · Strongly agree

Known limitations

The ERQ measures two strategies rather than the full emotion-regulation repertoire. Suppression scores can differ by cultural context, and neither subscale is a diagnostic measure. Confirm reproduction terms before administration.

Original citation

Gross, J. J., & John, O. P. (2003). Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: Implications for affect, relationships, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(2), 348-362.

https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.2.348

Questions researchers ask

What does the ERQ measure?

A 10-item self-report measure of habitual cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression as emotion-regulation strategies.

How many items does the ERQ have?

The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) has 10 items across 2 subscales: Cognitive Reappraisal, Expressive Suppression.

Is the ERQ free to use?

The ERQ is free to use for non-commercial academic research. You don't need to pay a license fee, but you should always cite the original publication.

Is the ERQ reliable?

Validation studies report Cronbach's α of 0.73–0.79, test–retest reliability of 0.69. See the reliability section for the population studied and full statistics.

Who developed the ERQ, and how do I cite it?

Gross, J. J., & John, O. P. (2003). Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: Implications for affect, relationships, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(2), 348-362. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.2.348

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Related scales

DERS-36Difficulties in Emotion Regulation ScaleFSFlourishing ScaleMLQMeaning in Life QuestionnaireSWLSSatisfaction with Life ScaleTIPITen-Item Personality InventoryAHSAdult Dispositional Hope Scale

Library entry verified September 2026. Metadata is provided for reference; item wording is available inside Folio Surveyor, subject to each instrument's licensing.