How to Choose an Emotion Regulation Test: ERQ vs DERS vs PERCI
Why Take an Emotion Regulation Test?
Emotion regulation is our capacity to influence our own emotional experience - shifting negative feelings, enjoying and sustaining positive ones, and keeping momentum and behavioral control under intense emotion. Research consistently links emotion regulation to anxiety, depression, relationship quality, and work performance.
Mainstream emotion regulation measures fall into three directions: strategies (what methods you use), difficulties (where you get stuck), and ability (how well you regulate overall, especially positive emotions). CheckPsych offers one representative of each:
The Three Tests at a Glance
ERQ - Regulation Strategies (10 items, ~3 min)
The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire measures how often you use two core strategies: cognitive reappraisal (reinterpreting a situation to change the emotion) and expressive suppression (hiding the outward expression of emotion). It answers "how do you usually regulate your emotions".
→ Take ERQ
DERS - Regulation Difficulties (36 items, ~10 min)
The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale measures difficulties across six areas: non-acceptance of emotional responses, difficulty with goals, impulse control difficulties, lack of emotional awareness, limited strategies, and lack of emotional clarity. It answers "where do you get stuck".
PERCI - Regulation Ability (32 items, ~5 min)
The Perth Emotion Regulation Competency Inventory is grounded in the extended process model and measures your ability to regulate both negative and positive emotions across 8 dimensions (experiential control, behavioral inhibition, behavioral activation, and emotional tolerance, for each valence). It is one of the few measures that treats "can you actually regulate your emotions" - rather than only which strategies you use or how much difficulty you have - as the object of measurement.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Aspect | ERQ | DERS | PERCI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measures | Regulation strategies (reappraisal/suppression) | Regulation difficulties (negative, 6 factors) | Regulation ability/difficulty (both valences, 8 dimensions) |
| Items | 10 | 36 | 32 |
| Time | ~3 min | ~10 min | ~5 min |
| Dimensions | 2 | 6 | 8 |
| Covers positive emotions | No | No | Yes |
| Best for | Learning your regulation style | Pinpointing specific difficulties | Comprehensive ability profile (incl. positive emotions) |
| Link | ERQ | DERS | PERCI |
How to Choose
- Want a quick read on your regulation style (reappraiser or suppressor) → take ERQ, 10 items in 3 minutes.
- Feel emotions keep dragging you down and want to pinpoint the difficulty (non-acceptance, impulse, or missing strategies) → take DERS; its six factors locate the bottleneck.
- Want a comprehensive ability assessment, especially for positive emotions (impulsive when excited, cannot sustain joy, feel undeserving of happiness) → take PERCI; its 8 dimensions cover both valences.
- Combine them: start with PERCI for the overall profile, use DERS to zoom into specific difficulties, and use ERQ to see your strategy style - the three complement each other into a full regulation picture.
Note
All of the above are education and self-exploration tools, not clinical diagnostics. If emotional distress is clearly affecting your work, relationships, or daily life, please consult a mental health professional.