Preliminary Development of the Consciousness Quotient Inventory (CQ-i): Introducing the Conscious Experience as a Research Variable in Psychological Assessment

Consciousness Quotient As a Predictor of Executive Functioning

“…To be conscious means to have a degree of witnessing awareness and a degree of freedom of choice when thinking, feeling, sensing and interacting with people and the environment . Using the above operational definition, the CQ inventory (CQ-i) evaluates the frequency of various behaviours and the usage of specific skills and abilities, providing a detailed description of conscious awareness experiences (Brazdau & Opariuc, 2014). As a composite measure, the CQ-i includes some other concepts related with the conscious experience (e.g.…”

“…mindfulness, self-reflectiveness, autonomy, purpose in life). Although these concepts were originally included as sub factors in the CQ-i, the subsequent researches concluded that they cannot be used as separate scales for the consciousness quotient, and that CQ is a unitary concept (Brazdau & Opariuc, 2014). A significant number of empirical studies have been conducted in last two decades exploring the relationship of consciousness with other mental constructs and behaviours.…”

The Consciousness Quotient: Construct Development and Content Validity Research

“…The 'consciousness quotient' construct was developed through 14 successive studies between 2003 and 2013 (Brazdau & Opariuc, 2014). The CQ-i beta version was first released in 2008, and between 2003 and 2013 a series of studies refined the concept and the measurement procedures.…”

“…During the initial items' development, a series of other psychological assessment instruments were analysed: the Self-consciousness Scale, the Mindfulness Attention and Awareness Scale, the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory, and Psychological Well-being Scales. Some scales from transpersonal psychology were analysed as well as various recent developments, such as the 'descriptive experience sampling' method and the 'explicitation interview' (Brazdau & Opariuc, 2014).…”

“…The main conclusion of these preliminary studies was that conscious experience can be scientifically treated like any other psychological variable, and that it is possible to introduce conscious experience as a variable in psychological assessment (Brazdau & Opariuc, 2014). The psychological assessment framework developed during preliminary development was the foundation for the in-depth construct's operationalization and the items' development.…”