The Experience of Shame Scale - ESS

Technical Manual

Script Author: Katja Borchert, Ph.D. (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond

Created: June 12, 2011

Last Modified: June 12, 2011 by K. Borchert (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond

Script Copyright © Millisecond Software, LLC

Background

This script implements a computerized version of the Experience of Shame Scale (ESS) by Andrews et al (2002). The ESS is a self-report questionnaire designed to measure frequency and severity of shame experiences.

References

Andrews B, Qian M, Valentine JD. (2002). Predicting depressive symptoms with a new measure of shame: The Experience of Shame Scale. Br J Clin Psychol. 2002 Mar;41(Pt 1):29-42

Duration

3 minutes

Description

25 questions on a 4-point Likert Scale, self report,

The 25 items of the ESS are divided mathematically by focus areas across three main subscales. Characterological Shame: Focuses on shame regarding the self (Addresses personal habits, social manner, personal ability etc) -> q1-q12 (12 questions) Behavioral Shame: Focuses on shame regarding actions (Addresses making mistakes, saying something stupid, or failing in competitive scenarios) -> q13-q21 (9 questions) Bodily Shame: Focuses on physical self-consciousness (Addresses feeling ashamed of one's body or specific body parts) -> q22-q25 (4 questions)

For each specific focal area, the test cycles through a triad of questions that measure three components: the Feeling (experiential), the Worry (cognitive/others' opinions), and the Avoidance (behavioral/concealment).

Summary Data

File Name: ess_summary*.iqdat

Data Fields

NameDescription
startDate Date the session was run
startTime Time the session was run
subjectId Participant ID
groupId Group number
sessionId Session number
elapsedTime Session duration in ms
inquisit.version Inquisit version number
computer.platform Device platform: win | mac |ios | android
computer.touch 0 = device has no touchscreen capabilities; 1 = device has touchscreen capabilities
computer.hasKeyboard 0 = no external keyboard detected; 1 = external keyboard detected
completed 0 = Test was not completed
1 = Test was completed
totalESS Total Score: sum of all individual responses (Range: 25-100)
=> Higher scores indicate a greater frequency and severity of shame experiences.
Subscales
characterologicalShame Focuses on shame regarding the self (q1-q12: Range: 12-48)
behavioralShame Focuses on shame regarding actions (q13-q21: Range: 9-36)
bodilyShame Focuses on physical self-consciousness (q22-q25: Range: 4-16)

Raw Data

File Name: ess.iqdat

Data Fields

NameDescription
date Date the session was run
time Time the session was run
subject Participant ID
group Group number
session Session number
build Inquisit version number
q*_response Response given (in assigned values)
Scale: 1 (Not at all) - 4 (Very much)
no reversed scored item
=> Higher scores indicate a greater frequency and severity of shame experiences.
q*_latency How much time (in ms) the participant spent on the surveyPage with this particular
question (the last time this particular surveyPage was visited)