Subject Impressions Questionnaire

Abstract

The Subject Impressions Questionnaire (SIQ) is a specialized psychological scale designed to assess participants’ immediate subjective thoughts and emotional responses following a structured social encounter, typically within a controlled experimental setting. The instrument measures 29 distinct statements describing feelings about the interaction partner and the quality of the shared experience. Responses are captured using a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (“not at all true”) to 7 (“very true”), allowing researchers to quantify subtle shifts in interpersonal perception and affective state induced by experimental manipulations.

Keywords

Subject Impressions Questionnaire, SIQ, social interaction, affective quality, perceived relatedness, autonomy, experimental psychology, social cognition, Likert scale.

Authors

The original authors of the standardized version are not explicitly documented in the widely distributed research copies; the scale is often adapted and cited in studies related to motivation and social cognition, particularly those building upon the work of researchers focused on intrinsic motivation and interpersonal relationships.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the SIQ is to quantify the subjective experience of participants during or immediately following a specific, structured social encounter. It serves as a critical manipulation check or outcome measure in social psychology research, particularly when investigating the impact of variables like rapport, motivational climate, or perceived control on interpersonal dynamics.

By capturing internal states such as enjoyment, tension, perceived freedom of choice, and trust, the scale provides a nuanced understanding of the psychological processes underlying successful or unsuccessful dyadic interaction outcomes. It helps researchers determine if experimental conditions successfully fostered a desired psychological climate, such as autonomy support or relatedness.

Construct

The SIQ is a multi-dimensional instrument that generally taps into several core constructs essential for evaluating the quality of a social exchange. These constructs are often grouped into four or five distinct factors, providing a comprehensive assessment:

• Affective Quality and Enjoyment: This measures the extent to which the participant found the interaction pleasurable, interesting, and fun, versus boring or unenjoyable.
• Perceived Autonomy and Volition: This assesses the participant’s feeling of having choice and self-determination regarding the interaction, contrasting with feelings of obligation or pressure (items related to Self-Determination Theory).
• Relatedness and Trust: Gauges the subjective sense of closeness, comfort, and the potential for establishing a future relationship (e.g., friendship) with the interaction partner.
• Tension and Anxiety: Measures the degree of emotional discomfort, nervousness, or relaxation experienced during the social exchange.

Validity

Specific detailed validity coefficients (e.g., convergent, discriminant) are typically reported within the primary research articles that employ the SIQ, as it is often adapted slightly for context. However, strong construct validity is inferred when the scale successfully discriminates between experimental conditions designed to manipulate key variables such as autonomy support or social exclusion.

For instance, a manipulation intended to increase perceived choice should result in significantly higher scores on the Autonomy subscale compared to a control or highly controlling condition, thus supporting the scale’s ability to measure the intended psychological construct accurately. The high transparency of the items also contributes to strong face validity.

Reliability

Due to its multi-faceted nature, reliability is typically established through internal consistency measures for empirically derived subscales. Studies utilizing the SIQ commonly report high internal reliability, with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients frequently exceeding 0.75 for the distinct factors identified through factor analysis (e.g., Enjoyment, Autonomy, Trust).

While the internal consistency of the subscales is robust, test-retest reliability is rarely measured or reported, as the SIQ is designed to capture the immediate, transient effects of an experimental manipulation, making long-term stability an inappropriate metric for its intended use.

Factor Analysis

Although the original documentation may be limited, empirical applications of the SIQ consistently reveal a separable factor structure. Exploratory factor analysis generally supports the grouping of items into conceptually distinct dimensions, confirming the scale’s multi-construct measurement capability. The most common factors extracted relate to Affective Quality, Perceived Autonomy, Anxiety/Tension, and Relational Potential. Researchers are strongly encouraged to perform a factor analysis specific to their sample and experimental context to confirm the integrity and appropriate scoring of the subscales.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report psychological scale.

Format: 29 statements rated on a 7-point Likert scale (1=not at all true; 4=somewhat true; 7=very true).

Language Available: Primarily English; adaptations in other languages exist depending on the research group.

Population Group: Individuals participating in laboratory experiments requiring a brief dyadic interaction.

Age Group: Typically college-aged students or adults (18+).

Population Details: Non-clinical samples, often drawn from university research pools or general community volunteers.

Test Methodology: The SIQ is administered post-interaction. Scoring involves calculating mean scores for specific subscales after appropriate reverse-coding of negatively worded items (e.g., Items 2, 6, 9, 14, 16, 17, 18, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28).

Keywords

Interpersonal perception, self-determination, rapport, experimental measure, social cognition, subjective experience, research instrument.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A (Information dependent on specific publication utilizing the scale).

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A

Correspondence Address: N/A

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions: The SIQ is widely accepted as a research measure for academic use. Researchers must appropriately cite the source publication where the specific version of the SIQ was validated or first employed.

Fee: Generally free for non-commercial academic research.

Test Year: The scale structure and items have been used in motivational and social research since the late 1990s, though specific test year depends on the version utilized.

Reference’s

References typically include the primary source publication detailing the validation of the subscales or the experimental paper where the scale was first introduced as a key measure.

Items of the SUBJECT IMPRESSIONS QUESTIONNAIRE

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. While I was interacting with this person‚ I was thinking about how much I enjoyed it.

2. I felt really distant to this person.

3. I did not feel at all nervous about interacting with this person.

4. I felt like I had choice about interacting with this person.

5. I would describe interacting with this person as very enjoyable.

6. I really doubt that this person and I would ever become friends.

7. I found this person very interesting.

8. I enjoyed interacting with this person very much.

9. I felt tense while interacting with this person.

10. I really feel like I could trust this person.

11. Interacting with this person was fun.

12. I felt relaxed while interacting with this person.

13. I’d like a chance to interact more with this person.

14. I didn’t really have a choice about interacting with this person.

15. I tried hard to have a good interaction with this person.

16. I’d really prefer not to interact with this person in the future.

17. I was anxious while interacting with this person.

18. I thought this person was very boring.

19. I felt like I was doing what I wanted to do while I was interacting with this person.

20. I tried very hard while interacting with this person.

21. I don’t feel like I could really trust this person.

22. I thought interacting with this person was very interesting.

23. I felt pressured while interacting with this person.

24. I think it’s likely that this person and I could become friends.

25. I felt like I had to interact with this person.

26. I feel really close to this person.

27. I didn’t put much energy into interacting with this person.

28. I interacted with this person because I had no choice.

29. I put some effort into interacting with this person.