Perception of Teasing Scale (POTS)

Perception of Teasing Scale (POTS)
Thompson‚ Cattarin‚ Fowler‚ & Fisher‚ 1995
© Taylor & Francis‚ LTD.
 
The following questions should be answered with respect to the period of time when you were growing up (ages 5–16). First‚ rate how often you think you have been the object of such behavior (using the scale provided‚ never to very often). Second‚ unless you responded never to a particular question‚ rate how upset you were by the teasing (not upset to very upset).
1.    People made fun of you because you were heavy.
1a. How upset were you?
2.    People made jokes about you being too heavy.
2a. How upset were you?
3.    People laughed at you for trying out for sports because you were heavy.
3a. How upset were you?
4.    People called you names like “fatso.”
4a. How upset were you?
5.    People pointed at you because you were overweight.
5a. How upset were you?
6.    People snickered about your heaviness when you walked into a room alone.
6a. How upset were you?
7.    People made fun of you by repeating something that you said because they thought it was dumb.
7a. How upset were you?
8.    People made fun of you because you were afraid to do something.
8a. How upset were you?
9.    People said you acted dumb.
9a. How upset were you?
People laughed at you because you didn’t understand something.
10a. How upset were you?
People teased you because you didn’t get a joke.
11a. How upset were you?
Copyright © 1995 Taylor & Francis‚ Ltd. Reproduced by special permission of the publisher‚ Taylor & Francis‚ Ltd.‚ 325 Chestnut St.‚ Suite 800‚ Philadelphia‚ PA 19106 (http://www.informaworld.com) from: The Perceptions of Teasing Scales (POTS): A revision and extension of the Physical Appearance Related Teasing Scale (PARTS). Journal of Personality Assessment‚ 65‚ 146-157 by J. Kevin Thompson‚ Jill Cattarin‚ Barbara Fowler‚ & Eric Fisher.
 
Weight Teasing = 0.90
Competency Teasing = 0.85
 
This tool touches on the following keywords:
  • Weight-Related Teasing
  • Competency-Related Teasing
This instrument can be found on pages 22-23 of Measuring Bullying Victimization‚ Perpetration‚ and Bystander Experiences:A Compendium of Assessment Tools‚ available online at: http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/bullycompendiumbk-a.pdf
  
Point values are assigned as follows:
For items 1 to 11:
1=Never‚ 3=Sometimes‚ 5= Very Often
For items 1a to 11a:
1=Not Upset‚ 3=Somewhat Upset‚ 5=Very Upset
 
References

Thompson‚ J. K.‚ Cattarin‚ J.‚ Fowler‚ B.‚ & Fisher‚ E. (1995). The Perception of Teasing Scale (POTS): A revision and extension of the Physical Appearance Related Teasing Scale (PARTS). Journal of Personality Assessment‚ 65‚ 146–157.

Developer’s Contact Information
J. Kevin Thompson‚ PhD
Dept. of Psychology‚ PCD 4118G
University of South Florida
4202 E. Fowler Ave.
Tampa‚ FL 33620-8200
Tel: 813-974-0367
  
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