State Hostility Scale – SHOS

The State Hostility Scale (SHOS) is a tool used to measure the level of hostility experienced by a person in a given state. It is a selfreport measure that assesses the severity of a persons hostile feelings toward a particular state, such as a country, region, or city. The SHOS was developed by researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and is based on a range of factors, including the perceived presence of danger and threat, the degree of perceived hostility, and the level of perceived social distance. The SHOS is composed of 10 items that measure different aspects of state hostility. These items include questions about the extent to which a person feels threatened by the state, the degree to which the state is perceived as hostile, and the level of social distance felt toward the state. The SHOS also measures the degree of perceived danger and the extent to which a person feels that the state is actively hostile. The SHOS is scored on a scale from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating a greater level of hostility. The SHOS has been used in a variety of research settings, including studies of intergroup relations, political behavior, and international relations. It has been found to be a reliable and valid measure of state hostility. In addition, the SHOS has been used to examine the effects of state hostility on individuals and groups. For example, it has been used to study the relationship between state hostility and social identity, as well as the effects of state hostility on attitudes and behavior. The SHOS is an important tool for understanding the level of hostility experienced by individuals and groups in different contexts. It can be used to assess the level of hostility experienced by a person in a particular state and to examine the effects of state hostility on attitudes and behavior. The SHOS is a reliable and valid measure that can be used to gain insight into the nature of state hostility and its effects on individuals and groups.

   The first published use of this form of the “State Hostility Scale” was in Anderson‚ Deuser‚ and DeNeve (1995). The items in this scale were derived from earlier studies by Zuckerman et al. (1964) and Spielberger et al. (1983).
   On the following pages are two copies of the State Hostility Scale that my colleagues and I have been using. The first page is in the form that we usually use. Note that it is labeled “Current Mood.” The second page shows which items are to be reverse scored.
   Please note that several items occasionally yield poor item-total correlations. This seems to occur because these items contain key words that some participants do not understand. Specifically‚ items 2‚ 4‚ & 35 (willful‚ tender‚ vexed) sometimes don’t work as well as the other 32 items. Feel free to exclude them.
Researchers may use these materials free of ch‎arge for research purposes. You may download other scales from my web site. My home page is at: http://www.psychology.iastate.edu/faculty/caa/index.html. My page listing other scales available for downloading is at: http://www.psychology.iastate.edu/faculty/caa/Scales/Scales.html.
 Please be sure to give appropriate citation credit for any of my materials that you use in your work.
We hope that you find these materials useful in your research. I would love to see copies of your research papers that use them. Electronic copies can be sent to me at: [email protected]. Paper copies can be sent to me at:
Craig A. Anderson‚ Ph.D.
W112 Lagomarcino Hall
Department of Psychology
Ames‚ IA 50011-3180
August 31‚ 2007
Here is a list of relevant publications:

Anderson‚ C.A‚ Deuser‚ W.E.‚ DeNeve‚ K. (1995). Hot temperatures‚ hostile affect‚ hostile cognition‚ and arousal: Tests of a general model of affective aggression. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin‚ 21‚ 434-448.

Anderson‚ C.A.‚ & Morrow‚ M. (1995). Competitive aggression without interaction: Effects of competitive versus cooperative instructions on aggressive behavior in video games. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin‚ 21‚ 1020-1030.

Anderson‚ C.A.‚ Anderson‚ K.B.‚ & Deuser‚ W.E. (1996). Examining an affective aggression framework: Weapon and temperature effects on aggressive thoughts‚ affect‚ and attitudes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin‚ 22‚ 366-376.

Anderson‚ C.A. (1997). Effects of violent movies and trait irritability on hostile feelings and aggressive thoughts.  Aggressive Behavior‚ 23‚ 161-178.

Anderson‚ K.B.‚ Anderson‚ C.A.‚ Dill‚ K.E.‚ & Deuser‚ W.E. (1998). The interactive relations between trait hostility‚ pain‚ and aggressive thoughts. Aggressive Behavior‚ 24‚ 161-171.


Anderson‚ C.A.‚ & Anderson‚ K.B. (1998). Temperature and aggression: Paradox‚ controversy‚ and a (Fairly) clear picture. Chapter in R. Geen & E. Donnerstein (Eds.) Human aggression: Theories‚ research‚ and implications for social policy. (pp. 247-298). San Diego‚ CA: Academic Press.

Lindsay‚ J.J.‚ & Anderson‚ C.A. (2000). From Antecedent Conditions to Violent Actions: A General Affective Aggression Model. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin‚ 26‚ 533-547.

Anderson‚ C.A.‚ Anderson‚ K.B.‚ Dorr‚ N.‚ DeNeve‚ K.M.‚ & Flanagan‚ M. (2000). Temperature and aggression. Chapter in M. Zanna (Ed.)‚ Advances in Experimental Social Psychology‚ 32‚ 63-133. New York: Academic Press.

Anderson‚ C.A.‚ & Dill‚ K.E. (2000). Video games and aggressive thoughts‚ feelings‚ and behavior in the laboratory and in life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology‚ 78‚ 772-790.

Spielberger‚ C. D.‚ Jacobs‚ G.‚ Russell‚ S.‚ & Crane‚ R. S. (1983). Assessment of anger: The state-trait anger scale. In J. Butcher & C. Spielberger (Eds.)‚ Advances in personality assessment (Vol. 2‚ pp. 159-187). Hillsdale‚ NJ: Erlbaum.

Zuckerman‚ M.‚ Lubin‚ B.‚ Vogel‚ L.‚ & Valerius‚ E. (1964). Measurement of experimentally induced affects. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology‚ 28‚ 418-425.

 Current Mood
Please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with each of the following mood statements. Use the following 5 point rating scale. Write the number corresponding to your rating on the blank line in front of each statement.
           Strongly                                    Neither Agree                                    Strongly
           Disagree             Disagree          Nor Disagree            Agree                 Agree
                 1                         2                         3                         4                         5
____ I feel furious.                                          ____ I feel like I’m about to explode.
____ I feel willful.                                           ____ I feel friendly.
____ I feel aggravated.                                    ____ I feel understanding.
____ I feel tender.                                           ____ I feel amiable.
____ I feel stormy.                                          ____ I feel mad.
____ I feel polite.                                            ____ I feel mean.
____ I feel discontented.                                 ____ I feel bitter.
____ I feel like banging on a table.                 ____ I feel burned up.
____ I feel irritated.                                         ____ I feel like yelling at somebody.
____ I feel frustrated.                                      ____ I feel cooperative.
____ I feel kindly.                                           ____ I feel like swearing.
____ I feel unsociable.                                    ____ I feel cruel.
____ I feel outraged.                                       ____ I feel good-natured.
____ I feel agreeable.                                      ____ I feel disagreeable.
____ I feel angry.                                            ____ I feel enraged.
____ I feel offended.                                       ____ I feel sympathetic.
____ I feel disgusted.                                      ____ I feel vexed.
____ I feel tame.
Current Mood
Please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with each of the following mood statements. Use the following 5 point rating scale. Write the number corresponding to your rating on the blank line in front of each statement.
           Strongly                                    Neither Agree                                    Strongly
           Disagree             Disagree          Nor Disagree            Agree                 Agree
                 1                         2                         3                         4                         5
____ I feel furious.                                          ____ I feel like I’m about to explode.
____ I feel willful.                                           ____ I feel friendly.*
____ I feel aggravated.                                    ____ I feel understanding.*
____ I feel tender.*                                         ____ I feel amiable.*
____ I feel stormy.                                          ____ I feel mad.
____ I feel polite.*                                          ____ I feel mean.
____ I feel discontented.                                 ____ I feel bitter.
____ I feel like banging on a table.                 ____ I feel burned up.
____ I feel irritated.                                         ____ I feel like yelling at somebody.
____ I feel frustrated.                                      ____ I feel cooperative.*
____ I feel kindly.*                                         ____ I feel like swearing.
____ I feel unsociable.                                    ____ I feel cruel.
____ I feel outraged.                                       ____ I feel good-natured.*
____ I feel agreeable.*                                    ____ I feel disagreeable.
____ I feel angry.                                            ____ I feel enraged.
____ I feel offended.                                       ____ I feel sympathetic.*
____ I feel disgusted.                                      ____ I feel vexed.
____ I feel tame.*
*Item needs to be reverse scored. The asterisks are not present in the scale when presented to research participants.
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