DB 2

Using the resources from this module, list several general principles that you believe are important for sound questionnaire design. Then choose one of the questionnaires listed below and discuss the ways the questionnaire fits or violates your principles. It is fully understood that several of your principles may not easily be applied to these questionnaires because you do not know the exact background of how the scales were developed. Instead, focus on the principles you developed regarding item wording, response options, question order, and so on.

Big 5 Personality Inventory (Goldberg, 1993) PDF

: One of the most commonly used measures of personality; scale on pages 3–4, scoring on page 4

Procrastination Scale (Lay, 1986) PDF

: A scale intended to measure procrastination in student populations; scoring information on the second page

Disgust Scale (Haidt, McCauley, & Rozin, 1994; Modified by Olatunji et al., 2007) Word Document

: A scale intended to measure disgust; scoring information at the bottom of the page

SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1Please indicate how much you agree with each of the following statements, or how true it is about you. Please write a number (0-4) to indicate your answer:

0 = Strongly disagree (very untrue about me)

1 = Mildly disagree (somewhat untrue about me)

2 = Neither agree nor disagree

3 = Mildly agree (somewhat true about me)

4 = Strongly agree (very true about me)

____1. I might be willing to try eating monkey meat, under some circumstances.

____2. It would bother me to be in a science class, and to see a human hand preserved in a jar.

____3. It bothers me to hear someone clear a throat full of mucous.

____4. I never let any part of my body touch the toilet seat in public restrooms.

____5. I would go out of my way to avoid walking through a graveyard.

____6. Seeing a cockroach in someone else’s house doesn’t bother me.

____7. It would bother me tremendously to touch a dead body.

____8. If I see someone vomit, it makes me sick to my stomach.

____9. I probably would not go to my favorite restaurant if I found out that the cook had a cold.

____10. It would not upset me at all to watch a person with a glass eye take the eye

out of the socket.

____11. It would bother me to see a rat run across my path in a park.

____12. I would rather eat a piece of fruit than a piece of paper

____13. Even if I was hungry, I would not drink a bowl of my favorite soup if it had been

stirred by a used but thoroughly washed flyswatter.

____14. It would bother me to sleep in a nice hotel room if I knew that a man had died of a

heart attack in that room the night before.

How disgusting would you find each of the following experiences? Please write a

number (0-4) to indicate your answer:

0 = Not disgusting at all

1 = Slightly disgusting

2 = Moderately disgusting

3 = Very disgusting

4 = Extremely disgusting

____15. You see maggots on a piece of meat in an outdoor garbage pail.

____16. You see a person eating an apple with a knife and fork

____17. While you are walking through a tunnel under a railroad track, you smell urine.

____18. You take a sip of soda, and then realize that you drank from the glass that an

acquaintance of yours had been drinking from.

____19. Your friend’s pet cat dies, and you have to pick up the dead body with your bare hands.

____20. You see someone put ketchup on vanilla ice cream, and eat it.

____21. You see a man with his intestines exposed after an accident.

____22. You discover that a friend of yours changes underwear only once a week.

____23. A friend offers you a piece of chocolate shaped like dog‑doo.

____24. You accidentally touch the ashes of a person who has been cremated.

____25. You are about to drink a glass of milk when you smell that it is spoiled.

____26. As part of a sex education class, you are required to inflate a new unlubricated

condom, using your mouth.

____27. You are walking barefoot on concrete, and you step on an earthworm.

The DS-R (Disgust Scale-Revised), Haidt, McCauley, & Rozin, 1994; Modified by Olatunji et al., in press.

To calculate your score: First, put an X through your responses to items 12 and 16 (these items don’t count). Then “reverse” your score on items 1,6, and 10 by subtracting what you wrote from the number 4, and write those numbers in the margin. Finally, add up your responses to all 25 items (using your “reversed” scores on 1, 6, and 10). The total will be a number between 0-100. For more information see: http://people.virginia.edu/~jdh6n/disgustscale.html

Procrastination Scale (Lay, 1986) – For student populations

Instructions:

People may use the following statements to describe themselves. For each statement, decide
whether the statement is uncharacteristic or characteristic of you using the following 5 point
scale. Note that the 3 on the scale is Neutral – the statement is neither characteristic nor
uncharacteristic of you. In the box to the right of each statement, fill in the number on the 5 point
scale that best describes you.

Extremely Moderately Neutral Moderately Extremely

Uncharacteristic Uncharacteristic Characteristic Characteristic
1 2 3 4 5

1. I often find myself performing tasks that I had intended to do days before.
2.* I do not do assignments until just before they are to be handed in.
3.* When I am finished with a library book, I return it right away regardless of the

date it is due.
4. When it is time to get up in the morning, I most often get right out of bed.
5. A letter may sit for days after I write it before mailing it.
6. I generally return phone calls promptly.
7. Even with jobs that require little else except sitting down and doing them, I find

they seldom get done for days.
8. I usually make decisions as soon as possible.
9. I generally delay before starting on work I have to do.
10.* I usually have to rush to complete a task on time.
11. When preparing to go out, I am seldom caught having to do something at the last

minute.
12. In preparing for some deadline, I often waste time by doing other things.
13.* I prefer to leave early for an appointment.
14.* I usually start an assignment shortly after it is assigned.
15. I often have a task finished sooner than necessary.
16. I always seem to end up shopping for birthday or Christmas gifts at the last

minute.
17. I usually buy even an essential item at the last minute.
18. I usually accomplish all the things I plan to do in a day.
19. I am continually saying AI=ll do it tomorrow@.
20. I usually take care of all the tasks I have to do before I settle down and relax for

the evening.

Note: Reversed-keyed items: 3,4,6,8,11,13,14,15,18,20

Note: * indicates items that differ from student to non-student forms

References

Lay, C. (1986). At last, my research article on procrastination. Journal of Research in

Personality, 20, 474-495.

Self Report Measures for Love and Compassion Research: Personality

BIG FIVE INVENTORY (BFI)

Reference

John, O. P., & Srivastava, S. (1999). The Big-Five trait taxonomy: History, measurement, and

theoretical perspectives. In L. A. Pervin & O. P. John (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory
and research (Vol. 2, pp. 102–138). New York: Guilford Press.

Description of Measure:

44-item inventory that measures an individual on the Big Five Factors (dimensions) of
personality (Goldberg, 1993). Each of the factors is then further divided into personality facets.

The Big Five Factors are (chart recreated from John & Srivastava, 1999):

Big Five Dimensions Facet (and correlated trait adjective)
Extraversion vs. introversion Gregariousness (sociable)

Assertiveness (forceful)
Activity (energetic)
Excitement-seeking (adventurous)
Positive emotions (enthusiastic)
Warmth (outgoing)

Agreeableness vs. antagonism Trust (forgiving)
Straightforwardness (not demanding)
Altruism (warm)
Compliance (not stubborn)
Modesty (not show-off)
Tender-mindedness (sympathetic)

Conscientiousness vs. lack of direction Competence (efficient)
Order (organized)
Dutifulness (not careless)
Achievement striving (thorough)
Self-discipline (not lazy)
Deliberation (not impulsive)

Neuroticism vs. emotional stability Anxiety (tense)
Angry hostility (irritable)
Depression (not contented)
Self-consciousness (shy)
Impulsiveness (moody)
Vulnerability (not self-confident)

Openness vs. closedness to experience Ideas (curious)
Fantasy (imaginative)
Aesthetics (artistic)
Actions (wide interests)
Feelings (excitable)
Values (unconventional)

For more information about the Big Five, visit this website:
http://www.uoregon.edu/~sanjay/bigfive.html#where

Self Report Measures for Love and Compassion Research: Personality

Abstracts of Selected Related Articles:

Bouchard, T. J. & McGue, M. (2003). Genetic and environmental influences on human psychological

differences. Journal of Neurobiology, 54, 4-45.

Psychological researchers typically distinguish five major domains of individual differences
in human behavior: cognitive abilities, personality, social attitudes, psychological interests,
and psychopathology (Lubinski, 2000). In this article we: discuss a number of methodological
errors commonly found in research on human individual differences; introduce a broad
framework for interpreting findings from contemporary behavioral genetic studies; briefly
outline the basic quantitative methods used in human behavioral genetic research; review
the major criticisms of behavior genetic designs, with particular emphasis on the twin and
adoption methods; describe the major or dominant theoretical scheme in each domain; and
review behavioral genetic findings in all five domains. We conclude that there is now strong
evidence that virtually all individual psychological differences, when reliably measured, are
moderately to substantially heritable.

Tkach, C., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2006). How do people pursue happiness?: Relating personality,

happiness-increasing strategies, and well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 7, 183-225.

Five hundred ethnically diverse undergraduates reported their happiness strategies – that
is, activities undertaken to maintain or increase happiness. Factor analysis extracted eight
general strategies: Affiliation, Partying, Mental Control, Goal Pursuit, Passive Leisure,
Active Leisure, Religion, and Direct Attempts at happiness. According to multiple regression
analyses, these strategies accounted for 52% of the variance in self-reported happiness and
16% over and above the variance accounted for by the Big Five personality traits. The
strongest unique predictors of current happiness were Mental Control (inversely related),
Direct Attempts, Affiliation, Religion, Partying, and Active Leisure. Gender differences
suggest that men prefer to engage in Active Leisure and Mental Control, whereas women
favor Affiliation, Goal Pursuit, Passive Leisure, and Religion. Relative to Asian and
Chicano(a) students, White students preferred using high arousal strategies. Finally,
mediation analyses revealed that many associations between individuals’ personality and
happiness levels are to some extent mediated by the strategies they use to increase their
happiness – particularly, by Affiliation, Mental Control, and Direct Attempts.

Shiota, M.N., Keltner, D., & John, O. P. (2006). Positive emotion dispositions differentially

associated with Big Five personality and attachment style. The Journal of Positive
Psychology, 1, 61-71.

Although theorists have proposed the existence of multiple distinct varieties of positive
emotion, dispositional positive affect is typically treated as a unidimensional variable in
personality research. We present data elaborating conceptual and empirical differences
among seven positive emotion dispositions in their relationships with two core personality
constructs, the ‘‘Big Five’’ and adult attachment style. We found that the positive emotion
dispositions were differentially associated with self- and peer-rated Extraversion,
Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Openness to Experience, and Neuroticism. We also found
that different adult attachment styles were associated with different kinds of emotional
rewards. Findings support the theoretical utility of differentiating among several
dispositional positive emotion constructs in personality research.

Self Report Measures for Love and Compassion Research: Personality

Scale:

The Big Five Inventory (BFI)

Here are a number of characteristics that may or may not apply to you. For example, do you agree
that you are someone who likes to spend time with others? Please write a number next to each
statement to indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with that statement.

Disagree
strongly

Disagree
a little

Neither agree
nor disagree

Agree
a little

Agree
Strongly

1 2 3 4 5

I see Myself as Someone Who…

____1. Is talkative ____23. Tends to be lazy

____2. Tends to find fault with others ____24. Is emotionally stable, not easily upset

____3. Does a thorough job ____25. Is inventive

____4. Is depressed, blue ____26. Has an assertive personality

____5. Is original, comes up with new ideas ____27. Can be cold and aloof

____6. Is reserved ____28. Perseveres until the task is finished

____7. Is helpful and unselfish with others ____29. Can be moody

____8. Can be somewhat careless ____30. Values artistic, aesthetic experiences

____9. Is relaxed, handles stress well ____31. Is sometimes shy, inhibited

____10. Is curious about many different things ____32. Is considerate and kind to almost
everyone

____11. Is full of energy ____33. Does things efficiently

____12. Starts quarrels with others ____34. Remains calm in tense situations

____13. Is a reliable worker ____35. Prefers work that is routine

____14. Can be tense ____36. Is outgoing, sociable

____15. Is ingenious, a deep thinker ____37. Is sometimes rude to others

____16. Generates a lot of enthusiasm ____38. Makes plans and follows through with

them

____17. Has a forgiving nature ____39. Gets nervous easily

____18. Tends to be disorganized ____40. Likes to reflect, play with ideas

____19. Worries a lot ____41. Has few artistic interests

Self Report Measures for Love and Compassion Research: Personality

____20. Has an active imagination ____42. Likes to cooperate with others

____21. Tends to be quiet ____43. Is easily distracted

____22. Is generally trusting ____44. Is sophisticated in art, music, or
literature

Scoring:

BFI scale scoring (“R” denotes reverse-scored items):

Extraversion: 1, 6R, 11, 16, 21R, 26, 31R, 36
Agreeableness: 2R, 7, 12R, 17, 22, 27R, 32, 37R, 42
Conscientiousness: 3, 8R, 13, 18R, 23R, 28, 33, 38, 43R
Neuroticism: 4, 9R, 14, 19, 24R, 29, 34R, 39
Openness: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35R, 40, 41R, 44