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Attitudes Toward Self (ATS)

The Attitudes Toward Self (ATS) Instrument measures three constructs: holding of overly high standards; the tendency to be self-critical at any failure to perform well; and the tendency to generalize from a single failure to the broader sense of self-worth. Very consistently, only generalization has uniquely related to depression (see Carver et al. 1988 reference below). Evidence that generalization is a prospective predictor of depression in interaction with adverse events has also been found. More recently, it has been found that generalization relates to depression but not mania,...

Author of Tool: 
Carver, C. S.

Curiosity and Exploration Inventory (CEI)

In an effort to expand research on curiosity, the authors elaborate on a theoretical model that informs research on the design of a new measure and the nomological network of curiosity. Curiosity was conceptualized as a positive emotional-motivational system associated with the recognition, pursuit, and self-regulation of novelty and challenge. The authors posit that curiosity is an important motivational component (but not the only one) that links cues reflecting novelty and challenge (internal or external) with growth opportunities. The Curiosity and Exploration Inventory (CEI)...

Author of Tool: 
Kashdan, T.B., Rose, P., & Fincham, F.D.

The Day Reconstruction Method (DRC)

The Day Reconstruction Method (DRM) assesses how people spend their time and how they experience the various activities and settings of their lives, combining features of time-budget measurement and experience sampling. Participants systematically reconstruct their activities and experiences of the preceding day with procedures designed to reduce recall biases. The benefits of the DRM as outlined by the authors are: joint assessment of activities and subjective experiences, information about the duration of each experience, allowing for duration weighted analyses of experiences, lower...

Author of Tool: 
Kahneman, D., Kreuger, A. B., & Schkade, D. A.

Derogation of Competitors Instrument

The purpose of the derogation of competitors instrument is to measure for the likelihood of persons to form derogation tactics for competitor. Verbal signals are sometimes used to manipulate the impressions that people form about oneself and others. For the goal of self-enhancement, one can manipulate impressions either by elevating oneself or derogating others. Five hypothesis about derogation of same sex competitors were generated from an evolutionary model of human-mate competition. These hypothesis focused on sex-differences in the importance that humans attach to external resources,...

Author of Tool: 
Buss, D.

Berkeley Expressivity Questionnaire

Emotions help us respond adaptively to environmental challenges and opportunities. Unlike other biologically based response tendencies, such as reflexes, however, emotions only incline us to act in certain ways; they do not compel us to do so. This means that we may deny expression to some emotional impulses while freely expressing others. Striking individual differences in ex-pressivity suggest that people differ in their response tendencies and in how they express these impulses as they arise. The Berkeley Expressivity Questionnaire assesses three different facets of emotional...

Author of Tool: 
Gross, J.J., & John, O.P.

Questionnaires from a Typical Writing Study

These questionnaires ask a series of questions relating to college experience. In the Pennebaker, J.W., Colder, M., & Sharp, L.K. (1990) study, participants were told "During today's session, I want you to let go and write about your very deepest thoughts and feelings about coming to college. College, as you know, is a major transition. In your writing, you might want to write about your emotions and thoughts about leaving your friends or your parents, about issues of adjusting to the various aspects of college such as roommates, classes, or thoughts about your future, or even about...

Author of Tool: 
Pennebaker, J.W

The Depressive Life Experiences Scale (DLES)

During recent years psychologists have begun to investigate the variety of stressful life events that trigger distress. The Depressive Life Experiences Scale (DLES) is an objective self-report instrument designed to assess six depressogenic life experiences: (1) social exits, (2) interpersonal disharmony, (3) personal inertia, (4) personal frustrations, (5) personal inadequacies, and (6) others' misfortunes. The Depressive Life Experiences Scale was designed to assess the depressive life experiences found in a study by Snell, McDonald, and Koch (1989). Snell et al. (1989) asked people to...

Author of Tool: 
Snell, W. E., Jr., Belk, S. S., & Hawkins, R. C. II

The Emotional Self- Disclosure Scale (ESDS)

People vary in how willingly and how often they discuss their emotional experiences with others. Research indicates that men and women sometimes diverge in their disclosure tendencies, usually in response to unique characteristics associated with the topic and recipient of the disclosure.The Emotional Self-Disclosure Survey (ESDS) consists of 40 topics concerned with the types of feelings and emotions that people experience at one time or another in their life. This survey is concened with the extent to which you have discussed these feelings and emotions with your counselor.

Author of Tool: 
Snell, W. E., Jr., Miller, R. S., & Belk, S. S.

The Masculine and Feminine Self-Disclosure Scale (MFSDS)

The research literature on self-disclosure is not consistent with gender stereotypes. While some studies demonstrate that women are more self-revealing than men, some find the opposite to be the case. The Masculine and Feminine Self-Disclosure Scale (MFSDS) has four separate subscales: two masculine scales assess the tendency to discuss agentic, instrumental traits and behaviors; and two feminine scales measure the tendency to self-disclose about communal, expressive traits and behaviors.

Author of Tool: 
Snell, W. E., Jr.

Costs and Benefits of Friendship

Friends do not share copies of our genes, nor do we generally reproduce with our friends. Around the world, however, people form friendships that last for days, years, and even a lifetime. One of the complexities of friendship is that some characteristics of friendship are perceived as both beneficial and costly. The friendship literature, for example, is inconsistent on the role of sexuality in opposite-sex friendship. More than half of men and some women report sexual attraction to their friends (Kaplan & Keys, 1997), and both sexes experience ambiguity about the sexual boundaries...

Author of Tool: 
Bleske, A.L., & Buss, D.M.

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