Welcome to the home page of the
Music Experience Questionnaire
(MEQ)
The MEQ is copyright (c) 1992 by
Paul D. Werner, Ph.D., Alan J. Swope, Ph.D., and Frederick Heide, Ph.D.
Overview
The Music Experience Questionnaire (MEQ) is comprised of 141 items asking about a range of topics pertaining to the place of music in a person's life. Questions were written to be relevant to non-musicians as well as to musicians.
The MEQ’s six scales, encompassing 53 items, comprise the Brief Music Experience Questionnaire (Brief MEQ). The scales were developed on rational and theoretical grounds and were refined through item analyses aimed at increasing internal consistency and reducing inter-scale redundancy. The scales are as follows:
Commitment to Music: the centrality of pursuit of musical experiences in the person's life
Innovative Musical Aptitude: self-reports of musical performance ability and of the ability to generate musical themes and works
Social Uplift: the experience of being stirred and uplifted in a group-oriented manner by music
Affective Reactions: affective and spiritual reactions to music
Positive Psychotropic Effects: calming, energizing, integrating reactions
Reactive Musical Behavior: behavioral responses including humming, swaying, etc. along with music
Initial research by Werner, Swope and Heide (2006) suggested that scores on the scales of the MEQ show acceptable reliability from both the internal consistency and test-retest reliability perspectives. Exploratory factor analyses suggest that two underlying dimensions are reflected by the scales. The psychometric properties and correlates of the MEQ’s scales have been further explored in a number of research studies.
MEQ Bibliography The MEQ bibliography lists conference papers and other documents pertaining to the MEQ.
Translations of the MEQ This page lists translations of the MEQ into languages other than English.
Researcher agreement form If you would like to use the MEQ or the Brief MEQ in research, please fill out this form and return it to Dr. Werner.
Both the MEQ and the BriefMEQ -- questionnaires and supporting documentation -- are available via the APA PsycTests database. This database can be accessed through many university libraries. But please note that you can obtain fuller documentation, more detailed information about the questionnaires, and a response to any inquiries you may have by contacting Paul Werner at the email addresses below.
Visit Paul D. Werner's research and professional home page.
Drs. Werner, Swope and Heide can be reached at:
Paul Werner's e-mail addresses:
PWerner@alliant.edu or Pauldwerner2000@yahoo.com
Alan Swope's e-mail address:
Fred Heide's e-mail address: