The Self-Regulation Questionnaires

This questionnaire concerns the reasons why children do their school work. The scale was developed for students in late elementary and middle school. (The comparable SRQ for adults is referred to as the Learning Self-Regulation Questionnaire.) Consequently‚ its format is slightly different from the format of the Self-Regulation Questionnaires intended for adults. First‚ the responses to each item are on a 4-point scale rather than a 7-point scale because we have found that more than 4 possible responses is not optimal for the children who complete the questionnaire who are as young as about 8 years of age. Second‚ we typically have the children respond right on the questionnaire by circling the correct response rather than using an answer sheet. Again‚ this is easier‚ especially when doing a group administration to a class of students. Of course it is more work for the researcher to get the information off the questionnaires‚ but it is worth the trade off. Third‚ there are more items on the SRQs for children than the SRQs for adults in order to ensure good reliability. Fourth‚ the “very true” response comes first for each item‚ whereas on the adult questionnaire it comes last. To score the scale: Very True is scored 4; Sort of True is scored 3; Not Very True is scored 2; and Not at All True is
scored 1. This way‚ a higher score will indicate a higher level of endorsement of that regulatory style. The SRQ-A uses four subscales: external regulation‚ introjected regulation‚ identified regulation‚ and intrinsic motivation.
Two versions of the scale. There are two versions of the SRQ-A. The first version is the one that has used in many studies of school children. It asks four questions about why students do various school related behaviors. Each question is followed by several responses that represent the 4 regulatory styles used in this scale.
Validation of this scale is presented in Ryan and Connell (1989). The second versions of the SRQ-A‚ which is a modification of the first‚ was cr‎eated for students with Learning Disabilities. In a study of students with LD (Deci‚ Hodges‚ Pierson‚ & Tomassone‚ 1992)‚ we found that the standard format was too difficult. So‚ rather
than ha‎ving one question with several responses‚ every item is formulated as a separate question. The items are still represent the responses to the same 4 questions as in the standard version of the scale‚ but they are written so the children will understand them more easily. Also‚ we changed the wording of the four responses to make them easier for the children. In this version‚ Always is scored 4; Most of the Time is scored 3; Sometimes is scored 2; and Never is scored 1. Scoring information for each version of the scale is after that version. First we present the standard version; then we present the version for students with LD.
 
The Scale (standard version)
WHY I DO THINGS
Name: ________________________________________
Age: ___________
Grade: _____________
( ) Boy or Girl ( )
Teacher: ________________
A. Why do I do my homework?
1. Because I want the teacher to think I’m a good student.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
2. Because I’ll get in trouble if I don’t.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
3. Because it’s fun.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
4. Because I will feel bad about myself if I don’t do it.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
5. Because I want to understand the subject.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
6. Because that’s what I’m supposed to do.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
7. Because I enjoy doing my homework.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
8. Because it’s important to me to do my homework.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
B. Why do I work on my classwork?
9. So that the teacher won’t yell at me.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
10. Because I want the teacher to think I’m a good student.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
11. Because I want to learn new things.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
12. Because I’ll be ashamed of myself if it didn’t get done.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
13. Because it’s fun.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
14. Because that’s the rule.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
15. Because I enjoy doing my classwork.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
16. Because it’s important to me to work on my classwork.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
C. Why do I try to answer hard questions in class?
17. Because I want the other students to think I’m smart.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
18. Because I feel ashamed of myself when I don’t try.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
19. Because I enjoy answering hard questions.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
20. Because that’s what I’m supposed to do.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
21. To find out if I’m right or wrong.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
22. Because it’s fun to answer hard questions.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
23. Because it’s important to me to try to answer hard questions in class.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
24. Because I want the teacher to say nice things about me.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
D. Why do I try to do well in school?
25. Because that’s what I’m supposed to do.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
26. So my teachers will think I’m a good student
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
27. Because I enjoy doing my school work well.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
28. Because I will get in trouble if I don’t do well.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
29. Because I’ll feel really bad about myself if I don’t do well.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
30. Because it’s important to me to try to do well in school.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
31. Because I will feel really proud of myself if I do well.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true
32. Because I might get a reward if I do well.
Very true
Not very true
Sort of true
Not at all true

* * * * * * * * * * *
The Scale (version for students with LD)
Why I Do Things
Name
Age
Boy or Girl (circle one)
Teacher
1. I do my classwork so that the teacher won’t yell at me.
Always
Most of the time
Sometimes
Never
2. I do my classwork because I want the teacher to think I’m a good student.
Always
Most of the time
Sometimes
Never
3. I do my classwork because I want to learn new things.
Always
Most of the time
Sometimes
Never
4. I do my classwork because I’ll feel bad about myself if it doesn’t get done.
Always
Most of the time
Sometimes
Never
5. I do my classwork because it’s fun.
Always
Most of the time
Sometimes
Never
6. I do my classwork because that’s the rule.
Always
Most of the time
Sometimes
Never
7. I enjoy doing my classwork.
Always
Most of the time
Sometimes
Never
8. I try to answer hard questions in class because I want the other kids to think I’m smart.
Always
Most of the time
Sometimes
Never
9. I try to answer hard questions because I’ll feel bad about myself if I don’t try.
Always
Most of the time
Sometimes
Never
10. I try to answer hard questions because it’s fun to answer hard questions.
Always
Most of the time
Sometimes
Never
11. I try to answer hard questions because that’s what I am supposed to do.
Always
Most of the time
Sometimes
Never
12. I try to answer hard questions to find out if I’m right or wrong.
Always
Most of the time
Sometimes
Never
13. I try to do well in school because that’s what I am supposed to do.
Always
Most of the time
Sometimes
Never
14. I try to do well in school so my teachers will think I’m a good student.
Always
Most of the time
Sometimes
Never
15. I try to do well in school because I like doing a good job on my school work.
Always
Most of the time
Sometimes
Never
16. I try to do well in school because I will get in trouble if I don’t.
Always
Most of the time
Sometimes
Never
17. I try to do well in school because I’ll fell really bad about myself if I don’t do well.
Always
Most of the time
Sometimes
Never
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Reference for original SRQ-A (the standard version)

Ryan‚ R.M.‚ & Connell‚ J.P. (1989). Perceived locus of causality and internalization: Examining reasons for acting in two domains. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology‚ 57‚ 749-761.

Reference for the adapted SRQ-A (the version for students with LD)

Deci‚ E. L.‚ Hodges‚ R.‚ Pierson‚ L.‚ & Tomassone‚ J. (1992). Autonomy and competence as motivational factors in students with learning disabilities and emotional handicaps. Journal of Learning Disabilities‚ 25‚ 457-471.

Other articles that have used the SRQ-A

Grolnick‚ W. S.‚ Ryan‚ R. M.‚ & Deci‚ E. L. (1991). The inner resources for school performance: Motivational mediators of children’s perceptions of their parents. Journal of Educational Psychology‚ 83‚ 508-517.

Grolnick‚ W. S.‚ & Ryan‚ R. M. (1989). Parent styles associated with children’s self-regulation and competence in school. Journal of Educational Psychology‚ 81‚ 143-154.

Grolnick‚ W. S.‚ & Ryan‚ R. M. (1987). Autonomy in children’s learning: An experimental and individual difference investigation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology‚ 52‚ 890-898.

Miserandino‚ M. (1996). Children who do well in school: Individual differences in perceived competence and autonomy in above-average children. Journal of Educational Psychology‚ 88‚ 203-214.

Patrick‚ B. C.‚ Skinner‚ E. A.‚ & Connell‚ J. P. (1993). What motivates children’s behavior and emotion? Joint effects of perceived control and autonomy in the academic domain. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology‚ 65‚ 781-791.

A variant of the SRQ-A has been used in Japan‚ as reported in the following articles

Hayamizu‚ T. (1997). Between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: Examination of reasons for academic study based on the theory of internalization. Japanese Psychological Research‚ 39‚ 98-108.

Yamauchi‚ H.‚ & Tanaka‚ K. (1998). Relations of autonomy‚ self-referenced beliefs and self-regulated learning among Japanese children. Psychological Reports‚ 82‚ 803-816.

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