Embarrassment Susceptibility Scale

Abstract

The Susceptibility to Embarrassment Scale (SES) is a 25-item self-report inventory designed by Kelly and Jones (1997) to assess an individual’s dispositional tendency or sensitivity towards feeling embarrassment across various social situations. It measures the degree to which a person is prone to experiencing feelings of awkwardness, humiliation, or social discomfort due to perceived or actual public scrutiny.

The scale utilizes a 7-point Likert-type scale response format and has demonstrated strong internal consistency, making it a reliable tool for researchers studying personality traits related to social evaluation and self-consciousness.

Keywords

Susceptibility to Embarrassment Scale, SES, embarrassment, social anxiety, self-consciousness, humiliation, personality assessment, dispositional embarrassability.

Authors

Kelly, K.M., Jones, W.H.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the SES is to quantify individual differences in the tendency to experience embarrassment. Unlike scales focusing purely on social anxiety, the SES specifically targets the affective and cognitive reactions associated with potential or actual public scrutiny and failure, which are central components of embarrassability as a dispositional trait.

It serves as a valuable research tool for understanding how dispositional embarrassability relates to other personality factors, coping mechanisms, and specific behaviors in social and performance contexts. The scale helps researchers differentiate between those who are highly sensitive to social evaluation and those who are more resilient to minor social mishaps or public attention.

Construct

The scale measures dispositional embarrassability, conceptualized as a stable personality characteristic reflecting a chronic concern about how one is viewed by others. This psychological construct encompasses an acute sensitivity to social evaluation, a tendency toward self-focus in public, and an inclination to interpret minor social mistakes as highly humiliating or mortifying events.

Items within the SES tap into several facets of this construct, including feelings of inadequacy, vulnerability, fear of making mistakes in public, and discomfort when being the center of attention. It assesses the depth of an individual’s concern regarding their public image and the resultant emotional vulnerability.

Validity

The initial publication by Kelly and Jones (1997) established the foundational psychometric properties of the SES. Subsequent research, notably by Maltby and Day (2000), further supported the scale’s validity among adult populations. Construct validity is demonstrated by the scale’s expected positive correlations with related measures, such as scales assessing fear of negative evaluation, public self-consciousness, and social anxiety.

The SES is considered a robust measure of public image concern. Leary, Jongman-Sereno, and Diebels (2015) included the SES in their comprehensive review of instruments measuring concerns with public image and social evaluation, confirming its established role in assessing the tendency to worry about what others think.

Reliability

The internal consistency of the Susceptibility to Embarrassment Scale has been consistently reported as high across various adult samples. Maltby and Day (2000) conducted a critical examination of the scale’s psychometric properties and reported a strong measure of reliability, finding a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.92.

This high alpha coefficient suggests excellent homogeneity among the 25 items, indicating that the scale reliably measures the same underlying dispositional trait of embarrassability. The strong internal consistency assures researchers that the measure is highly stable and suitable for precise personality assessment.

Factor Analysis

The Susceptibility to Embarrassment Scale is commonly utilized as a unidimensional measure that yields a single total score reflecting overall dispositional embarrassability. However, the comprehensive nature of the items suggests an underlying, potentially multi-faceted structure related to social evaluation.

Factor analysis performed during the scale’s development likely identified a dominant factor representing general susceptibility to embarrassment. The items collectively address distinct areas of social vulnerability, including sensitivity to appearance criticism, anxiety regarding public performance, and generalized feelings of being exposed or vulnerable.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire / Psychological assessment

Format: 25 items utilizing a 7-point Likert-type scale (1=not at all like me; 7=very much like me). Items 4, 18, and 25 are reverse scored (R).

Language Available: English (Original)

Population Group: General population, primarily utilized with college students and adults in psychological research.

Age Group: Adolescents and Adults.

Population Details: Developed initially using university student samples; validated across broader adult samples subsequently.

Test Methodology: Respondents indicate the degree to which each statement reflects their typical feelings and behaviors regarding social situations and potential embarrassment. Higher scores indicate greater susceptibility to embarrassment.

Keywords

Social evaluation, self-report, psychometrics, anxiety, social discomfort, Kelly and Jones, psychological construct, personality assessment.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not specified in source content.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not specified in source content.

Correspondence Address: Not specified in source content.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Susceptibility to Embarrassment Scale was published in 1997 by Kelly and Jones.

Information regarding current usage fees or formal permissions beyond academic citation should be sought from the original authors or the journal publisher (Anxiety, Stress, and Coping).

The instrument itself, as part of a larger publication chapter detailing measures of public image concerns, is publicly available in PDF format. The original PDF can be downloaded here: http://scitechconnect.elsevier.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Baboons-Chapter.pdf

Reference’s

• Kelly, K.M., & Jones, W.H. (1997). Assessment of dispositional embarrassability. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping, 10: 307-333.
• Maltby, J., & Day, L. (2000). The reliability and validity of a susceptibility to embarrassment scale among adults. Personality and Individual Differences, 29: 749-756.
• Leary, Mark R., Jongman-Sereno, Katrina P., and Diebels, Kate J. (2015). Measures of Concerns with Public Image and Social Evaluation. in Gregory Boyle, Donald H. Saklofske and Gerald Matthews. Measures of Personality and Social Psychological Constructs. Elsevier, Pages 448–473.

Items of the Susceptibility to Embarrassment Scale

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. I feel unsure of myself.
2. I don’t feel comfortable in public unless my clothing, hair, etc. are just right.
3. I feel uncomfortable in a group of people.
4. I don’t mind being the center of attention. (R)
5. I probably care too much about how I come across to others.
6. I feel inadequate when I am talking to someone I just met.
7. I feel clumsy in social situations.
8. I feel uncomfortable leaving the house when I don’t look my best.
9. Sometimes I just feel exposed.
10. I feel humiliated if I make a mistake in front of a group.
11. I get flustered when speaking in front of a group.
12. I often feel emotionally exposed in public and with groups of people.
13. It is unsettling to be the center of attention.
14. I get tense just thinking about making a presentation by myself.
15. I have felt mortified or humiliated over minor embarrassment.
16. I am very much afraid of making mistakes in public.
17. I don’t like being in crowds.
18. I do not blush easily. (R)
19. I often worry about looking stupid.
20. I feel so vulnerable.
21. I am concerned about what others think of me.
22. I’m afraid that things I say will sound stupid.
23. I worry about making a fool out of myself.
24. What other people think of me is very important.
25. I am not easily embarrassed. (R)

(R) Reverse scored item.