Work

The Motivation for Cognitive Activities Questionnaire: scale development and validation in French and English

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: The current research aimed to develop and validate a novel measurement scale, the Motivation for Cognitive Activities Questionnaire (MCAQ), specifically designed to assess individuals’ motivation to engage in everyday cognitive activities. The MCAQ’s development was informed by expectancy-value theory and self-determination theory. Four studies were conducted to validate the MCAQ in both English and French languages. Through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, a 32-item scale emerged, encompassing four subscales: perceived capacity, intrinsic motivation, identified motivation, and external motivation, as well as four additional general items assessing motivation for engaging in cognitive activity, taken broadly. The MCAQ demonstrated robust internal consistency and convergent validity, and satisfactory test–retest reliability. Moreover, the scale exhibited satisfactory predictive validity in relation to cognitive performance. The theoretical and practical utility of the MCAQ is discussed.

Source: Frontiers in Psychology

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1907732

Authors: Marine Beaudoin, Morgane Schlemmer, Fanny Vallet, Jérôme Blondé, Nathalie Mella, Olivier Desrichard

Institutions: Laboratoire Inter-universitaire de Psychologie: Personnalité, Cognition, Changement Social, Université Savoie Mont Blanc, University of Geneva

Language: English

Topic: Education, Achievement, and Giftedness

Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,801

Funder: Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung