Berkeley Expressivity Questionnaire – BEQ
Assesses three facets of emotional expressivity: negative expressivity, positive expressivity, and impulse strength.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Berkeley Expressivity Questionnaire – BEQ was developed by Gross, J.J., & John, O.P. (1997). It is designed to measure Emotional Expressivity. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 16 items organized into 3 factors/subscales: Negative Expressivity, Positive Expressivity, Impulse Strength.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Negative Expressivity | 3,5,8,9,13,16 | 6 |
| Positive Expressivity | 1,4,6,10 | 4 |
| Impulse Strength | 2,7,11,12,14,15 | 6 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = slightly disagree, 4 = neutral, 5 = slightly agree, 6 = agree, 7 = strongly agree.
The scale includes 3 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 1 to 7. Interpretation guidelines:
- Scores are calculated as the mean of the items (ranging from 1 to 7), where higher scores indicate greater emotional expressivity.: 1 – 7
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Total BEQ alpha = .86, Negative Expressivity = .70, Positive Expressivity = .70, Impulse Strength = .80.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.