Fordyce Happiness Measures – HM
A brief self-report scale designed to measure average personal happiness and the percentage of time spent in happy, unhappy, and neutral states.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Fordyce Happiness Measures – HM was developed by Michael W. Fordyce (1988). It is designed to measure Subjective Happiness. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 4 items organized into 2 factors/subscales: Overall Happiness, Affective Time Estimate.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Happiness | 1 | 1 |
| Affective Time Estimate | 2,3,4 | 3 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 10 = Extremely happy (feeling ecstatic, joyous, fantastic!), 9 = Very happy (feeling really good, elated!), 8 = Pretty happy (spirits high, feeling good.), 7 = Mildly happy (feeling fairly good and somewhat cheerful.), 6 = Slightly happy (just a bit above neutral.), 5 = Neutral (not particularly happy or unhappy.), 4 = Slightly unhappy (just a bit below neutral.), 3 = Mildly unhappy (just a little low.), 2 = Pretty unhappy (somewhat 'blue,' spirits down.), 1 = Very unhappy (depressed, spirits very low.), 0 = Extremely unhappy (utterly depressed, completely down.), 0-100% = Percentage of time spent in this state.
The scale includes 1 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 0 to 100. Interpretation guidelines:
- Below Average Happiness: 0 – 49
- Average Happiness: 50 – 69
- Above Average Happiness: 70 – 100
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 2 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.