1. Showing forgiveness to someone who broke a favorite possession.
2. Thanking family members for something they have done.
3. Exclaiming over a beautiful day.
4. Showing contempt for another’s actions.*
5. Expressing dissatisfaction with someone else’s behavior.*
6. Praising someone for good work.*
7. Expressing anger at someone else’s carelessness.*
8. Sulking over unfair treatment by a family member.*
9. Blaming one another for family troubles.*
10.Crying after an unpleasant disagreement.
11.Putting down other people’s interests.*
12.Showing dislike for someone.*
13.Seeking approval for an action.
14.Expressing embarrassment over a stupid mistake.
15.Going to pieces when tension builds up.*
16.Expressing exhilaration after an unexpected triumph.
17.Expressing excitement over one’s future plans.*
18.Demonstrating admiration.*
19.Expressing sorrow when a pet dies.
20.Expressing disappointment over something that didn’t work out.*
21.Telling someone how nice they look.*
22.Expressing sympathy for someone’s troubles.*
23.Expressing deep affection or love for someone.*
24.Quarreling with a family member.*
25.Crying when someone leaves.
26.Spontaneously hugging a family member.*
27.Expressing momentary anger over a trivial irritation.*
28.Expressing concern for the success of other family members.
29.Apologizing for being late.
30.Offering to do somebody a favor.
31.Snuggling up to a family member.*
32.Crying for being punished.
33.Trying to cheer up someone who is sad.*
34.Telling a family member how hurt you are.
35.Telling a family member how happy you are.*
36.Threatening someone.*
37.Criticizing someone for being late.
38.Expressing gratitude for a favor.*
39.Surprising someone with a little gift or favor.*
40.Saying “I’m sorry” when one realizes one was wrong.
(*) indicates the item is suggested for the short scales (Halberstadt et al‚ 1995)
Positive-Dominant (PD)‚ Positive-Submissive (PS)‚ Negative-Dominant (ND)‚ and Negative-Submissive (NS)
PD = .87‚ PS = .88‚ ND = .88‚ NS = .75. Test-retest reliability coefficients for a 10-day interval were PD = .92‚ PS = .91‚ ND = .91‚ NS = .89.
1 “Not at all frequently” to 9 “Very frequently”
Positive-Dominant (1‚ 6‚ 16‚ 17‚ 18‚ 23‚ 26‚ 28‚ 33‚ 39)‚ Positive-Submissive (2‚ 3‚ 13‚ 21‚ 22‚ 30‚ 31‚ 35‚ 38‚ 40)‚ Negative-Dominant (4‚ 5‚ 7‚ 9‚ 11‚ 12‚ 24‚ 27‚ 36‚ 37)‚ and Negative-Submissive (8‚ 10‚ 14‚ 15‚ 19‚ 20‚ 25‚ 29‚ 32‚ 34)
Halberstadt‚ A. G. (1986). Family socialization of emotional expression and nonverbal communication styles and skills. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology‚ 51: 827-836.
Cooley‚ E. (1992). Family Expressiveness and Proneness to Depression among College Women. Journal of Research in Personality‚ 26‚ 281-287.
Halberstadt‚ Amy G.‚ Parke‚ R. D.‚ Cassidy‚ J.‚ Stifter‚ C. A.‚ Fox‚ N. A. (1995). Self-Expressiveness Within the Family Context: Psychometric Support for a New Measure. Psychological Assessment‚ 7(1): 93-103.
Gamer‚ P. W.‚ & Power‚ T. G. (1996). Preschoolers’ Emotional Control in the Disappointment Paradigm and Its Relation to Temperament‚ Emotional. Knowledge‚ and Family Expressiveness. Child Development‚ 67‚ 1406-1419.
Pursell‚ Gwen Renae. (2002). “The effects of childhood social competence on young adults interpersonal competence in dyadic and family relations: an exploratory analysis”. University of Richmond‚ M.A. Theses.