Gratitude Questionnaire-6

GQ-6

psychologysocial sciencesFree for research use

A 6-item unidimensional measure of dispositional gratitude — the tendency to notice and appreciate the positive in life.

Items

Response format

7-point Likert

Version

1.0

Ready-to-cite methods sentence

Dispositional gratitude was measured with the Gratitude Questionnaire-6 (GQ-6; McCullough et al., 2002), a 6-item scale with good internal consistency (α ≈ .82).

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.

Reliability & validation

Validation population

Undergraduates and community adults (McCullough et al., 2002)

Cronbach's α

0.82

Response anchors

Strongly disagree · Disagree · Slightly disagree · Neutral · Slightly agree · Agree · Strongly agree

Known limitations

Brief and trait-level; correlates strongly with general positive affect and agreeableness, which raises questions about discriminant validity.

Original citation

McCullough, M. E., Emmons, R. A., Tsang, J.-A. (2002). The grateful disposition: A conceptual and empirical topography. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(1), 112-127.

https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.82.1.112

Questions researchers ask

What does the GQ-6 measure?

A 6-item unidimensional measure of dispositional gratitude — the tendency to notice and appreciate the positive in life.

How many items does the GQ-6 have?

The Gratitude Questionnaire-6 (GQ-6) has 6 items.

Is the GQ-6 free to use?

The GQ-6 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 GQ-6 reliable?

Validation studies report Cronbach's α of 0.82. See the reliability section for the population studied and full statistics.

Who developed the GQ-6, and how do I cite it?

McCullough, M. E., Emmons, R. A., Tsang, J.-A. (2002). The grateful disposition: A conceptual and empirical topography. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(1), 112-127. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.82.1.112

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