FolioStart free
All scales

Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire

MSLQ
educationpsychologyFree for research use

Permission: Free for research use. Free for non-commercial academic research, with no licence fee. Cite the original publication.

An 81-item self-report instrument measuring college students' motivational orientations (six subscales) and use of learning strategies (nine subscales); modular by design.

Items
81
Response format
7-point Likert (1 = not at all true of me to 7 = very true of me)
Version
1.0
Subscales
15

Ready-to-cite methods sentence

Motivation and learning strategies were measured with the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ; Pintrich et al., 1993), a modular 81-item instrument whose 15 subscales showed a wide range of internal consistency (α ≈ .52–.93).

Citing this in a methods section? See the APA 7 guide (Author–date citations for psychology and the social sciences). Or compare all six citation styles.

Run MSLQ in Folio Surveyor

Folio has verified the citation and methods for this scale, not its item wording, so Surveyor cannot add the items for you. It starts a study named for MSLQ, with room for its 81 items; you add each item from the published source.

Start a study
Save MSLQ Cite MSLQ in a new doc

Reliability & validation

Validation population
College students (Pintrich et al., 1993)
Cronbach's α
0.52–0.93

Subscales

Intrinsic goal orientationExtrinsic goal orientationTask valueControl of learning beliefsSelf-efficacy for learningTest anxietyRehearsalElaborationOrganizationCritical thinkingMetacognitive self-regulationTime and study environmentEffort regulationPeer learningHelp seeking

Known limitations

Designed to be used modularly (subscales alone), and subscale reliabilities vary widely; in the original sample the lowest alphas were for help seeking (.52), extrinsic goal orientation (.62), and organization (.64).

Original citation

Pintrich, P. R., Smith, D. A. F., García, T., & McKeachie, W. J. (1993). Reliability and predictive validity of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). Educational and Psychological Measurement, 53(3), 801-813.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164493053003024

Questions researchers ask

What does the MSLQ measure?

An 81-item self-report instrument measuring college students' motivational orientations (six subscales) and use of learning strategies (nine subscales); modular by design.

How many items does the MSLQ have?

The Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) has 81 items across 15 subscales: Intrinsic goal orientation, Extrinsic goal orientation, Task value, Control of learning beliefs, Self-efficacy for learning, Test anxiety, Rehearsal, Elaboration, Organization, Critical thinking, Metacognitive self-regulation, Time and study environment, Effort regulation, Peer learning, Help seeking.

Is the MSLQ free to use?

The MSLQ 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 MSLQ reliable?

Validation studies report Cronbach's α of 0.52–0.93. See the reliability section for the population studied and full statistics.

Who developed the MSLQ, and how do I cite it?

Pintrich, P. R., Smith, D. A. F., García, T., & McKeachie, W. J. (1993). Reliability and predictive validity of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). Educational and Psychological Measurement, 53(3), 801-813. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164493053003024

Or track new research mentioning MSLQ as it publishes

Related scales

OSLQOnline Self-Regulated Learning QuestionnaireAEQAchievement Emotions QuestionnaireAHSAdult Dispositional Hope ScaleAMS-C 28Academic Motivation Scale — College VersionBFI-44Big Five InventoryBSCSBrief Self-Control Scale

Library entry verified September 2026. Metadata is provided for reference; item wording is available inside Folio Surveyor, subject to each instrument's licensing.