The Offense-Taking Scale

I thought some might find it enjoyable or informative to take the Offense-Taking Scale, which I developed and validated a few years ago for my master's thesis. If you are interested in reading more about this scale, you can find it here (I am first author).

Indicate the extent to which you are in agreement with each item by putting one number next to the item.

6 = Agree strongly

5 = Agree somewhat

4 = Agree slightly

3 = Disagree slightly

2 = Disagree somewhat

1 = Disagree strongly

____ 1. After someone has offended me, I usually think about the offense frequently.

____ 2. It takes something fairly severe to offend me.

____ 3. When I become offended, it is very difficult for me to concentrate.

____ 4. Once someone has wronged me, I stay offended for a while.

____ 5. It does not take much to make me mad.

____ 6. People rarely anger me.

____ 7. I usually do not stay angry very long.

____ 8. I lose my patience easily.

____ 9. I am relatively easy-going.

____ 10. The rest of my day is not ruined when I get offended.

____ 11. My friends often tell me I over-react to perceived slights.

____ 12. I get aggravated often.

____ 13. When I get frustrated, it does not take me long to calm down.

____ 14. I may become irritated at the slightest thing.

____ 15. There are people who owe me an apology.

____ 16. I recall every time individuals have wronged me in the past.

Scoring: The total scale score is found by reverse scoring items 2, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 13, then summing the scores with the other items. The Sensitivity subscale is formed by adding items 5, 8, 11, 12, and 14, with the reverse score of items 2, 6, and 9. The Severity subscale is formed by adding items 1, 3, 4, 15, and 16, with the reverse score of items 7, 10, and 13. The average score for the total scale is 45, for the sensitivity subscale 20, for the severity subscale 25.

The Sensitivity Subscale reflects both the frequency with which one takes offense and the tolerance one has for offense stimuli. The Severity Subscale, on the other hand, measures the magnitude of disruption of the offended state upon the person’s functioning, the temporal duration of the offended state, and the endorsement of entitlement cognitions.

Comments

Anonymous said…
my scores: 47; 18; 28 :)
Thu Apr 24, 04:25:00 PM PDT
John Gilmore said…
does reverse score mean turn a 6 into a 1, a 5 into a 2, and a 4 into a 3?

if so than my scores are:

total: 23
sensitivity: 12
severity: 17

is that possible or did I screw it up? seems a lot lower than average total score. I don't get offended really ever, so that might be correct. When I do get offended i tend to be quite offended but not for too long.

my numbers for the quiz were like this:
4641166156135213
Tue Jul 22, 12:12:00 PM PDT
Hüffenhardt said…
dance: You are correct about how to reverse score; however, I get 29 when I add 12 and 17.
Tue Jul 22, 03:34:00 PM PDT
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