Gratitude Questionnaire-6
GQ-6A 6-item unidimensional measure of dispositional gratitude — the tendency to notice and appreciate the positive in life.
Ready-to-cite methods sentence
Reliability & validation
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/10.1037/0022-3514.82.1.112Questions 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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Related scales
Library entry verified July 2026. Metadata is provided for reference; item wording is available inside Folio Surveyor, subject to each instrument's licensing.