Perception of Teasing Scale (POTS)

Abstract

The Perception of Teasing Scale (POTS) is a psychological instrument developed by Thompson, Cattarin, Fowler, and Fisher in 1995. It serves as a significant revision and extension of the earlier Physical Appearance Related Teasing Scale (PARTS). The POTS is designed to retrospectively assess an individual’s experiences of teasing during childhood and adolescence (specifically ages 5–16).

The scale measures two critical dimensions of perceived victimization: the frequency of teasing behavior and the resulting emotional distress. It is fundamentally divided into two primary factors: Weight Teasing, which focuses on appearance-related ridicule, and Competency Teasing, which addresses teasing related to perceived intellectual or social inadequacy. This instrument is essential for research examining the lasting psychological impact of childhood Teasing on adult mental health and body image.

Keywords

Perception of Teasing Scale (POTS), Weight-Related Teasing, Competency-Related Teasing, childhood victimization, bullying, retrospective assessment, Psychological Assessment, body dissatisfaction, social anxiety, developmental psychology.

Authors

J. Kevin Thompson, Jill Cattarin, Barbara Fowler, Eric Fisher

Purpose

The primary purpose of the POTS is to quantitatively measure the degree and impact of teasing behaviors experienced during an individual’s formative years (ages 5 to 16). The scale necessitates a dual response for each item: first, rating the frequency of the teasing event, and second, rating the level of emotional upset caused by that event.

By capturing both the objective exposure (frequency) and the subjective emotional response (distress), the POTS provides a comprehensive measure of perceived historical victimization. This allows researchers to distinguish between mere exposure to teasing and the degree to which that teasing was internalized as distressing, which is critical for understanding subsequent psychological issues such as eating disorders and lowered self-esteem.

Construct

The POTS measures the construct of perceived historical teasing, which is empirically structured into two distinct subscales, broadening the scope beyond purely physical appearance concerns previously addressed by the PARTS scale.

The two measured factors are:

• Weight Teasing: This factor includes items related to being mocked, ridiculed, or named-called specifically due to being heavy or overweight. It directly taps into the experience of weight stigma and its impact on body image development.
• Competency Teasing: This factor includes items related to being ridiculed for perceived lack of intelligence, social awkwardness, or expressing fear. It measures victimization focused on intellectual or social capability rather than physical appearance.

Validity

The development of the Perception of Teasing Scale (POTS) established strong foundational validity by serving as a revision and extension of the established Physical Appearance Related Teasing Scale (PARTS). This revision significantly enhanced the scale’s content validity by incorporating the Competency Teasing factor, thereby ensuring the instrument captures a wider, more ecologically relevant range of childhood teasing experiences.

The structure of the scale, supported by psychometric analysis, ensures that the items effectively measure the intended constructs of weight and competency-related teasing. The POTS has been widely adopted in clinical research, demonstrating its criterion validity by consistently correlating with psychological outcomes associated with victimization, such as depression, anxiety, and body dissatisfaction.

Reliability

The POTS demonstrates high levels of internal consistency across its two primary subscales, confirming that the items within each factor reliably measure their respective constructs. The reported Cronbach’s alpha coefficients are robust, indicating excellent reliability for both research and clinical application of the scale.

• Weight Teasing Subscale: The internal consistency for this factor was reported at 0.90.
• Competency Teasing Subscale: The internal consistency for this factor was reported at 0.85.

These strong Reliability indices suggest that the POTS provides stable and consistent measurement of perceived teasing history across diverse samples.

Factor Analysis

The structural integrity of the POTS is confirmed through Factor Analysis, which resulted in a clear two-factor solution corresponding to the Weight Teasing and Competency Teasing domains. This distinct factor structure validates the scale’s theoretical premise that different types of teasing may exert unique psychological influences on the individual.

The successful extraction of these two factors allows researchers utilizing the POTS to perform specialized analyses, isolating the specific contribution of appearance-related versus ability-related ridicule to psychological maladjustment. This separation is a key methodological advantage over previous single-factor teasing measures.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report retrospective psychological scale

Format: 11 main questions (measuring frequency) paired with 11 follow-up questions (measuring emotional distress). Responses are scored using 5-point Likert scales.

Language Available: English (Original)

Population Group: Individuals, typically adolescents or adults, recalling their childhood experiences.

Age Group: Recollection period: ages 5–16 (Childhood and Adolescence)

Population Details: The scale is typically administered to older individuals who can reflect accurately on their experiences during the defined developmental period. It is utilized in both general population samples and clinical cohorts.

Test Methodology: For items 1 to 11, frequency is rated (1=Never, 3=Sometimes, 5=Very Often). For items 1a to 11a, emotional upset is rated (1=Not Upset, 3=Somewhat Upset, 5=Very Upset). Participants are instructed to skip the distress rating (1a–11a) if they respond “Never” to the corresponding frequency item (1–11).

Keywords

teasing victimization, body image, childhood trauma, psychological distress, retrospective assessment, competency, self-esteem, Weight Teasing, appearance-based bullying, social rejection.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not specified in source.

Affiliation Email addresses: [email protected] (J. Kevin Thompson)

Correspondence Address: J. Kevin Thompson, PhD, Dept. of Psychology, PCD 4118G, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa, FL 33620-8200

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Perception of Teasing Scale (POTS) was first published in 1995. The copyright is held by Taylor & Francis, LTD., and reproduction or use requires special permission from the publisher.

The instrument is also featured in the publication, “Measuring Bullying Victimization, Perpetration, and Bystander Experiences: A Compendium of Assessment Tools.” The original PDF of this compendium, which includes the POTS items on pages 22-23, can be downloaded here: http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/bullycompendiumbk-a.pdf

Reference’s

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.

Items of the Perception of Teasing Scale (POTS)

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.
2. How upset were you?
3. People made jokes about you being too heavy.
4. How upset were you?
5. People laughed at you for trying out for sports because you were heavy.
6. How upset were you?
7. People called you names like “fatso.”
8. How upset were you?
9. People pointed at you because you were overweight.
10. How upset were you?
11. People snickered about your heaviness when you walked into a room alone.
12. How upset were you?
13. People made fun of you by repeating something that you said because they thought it was dumb.
14. How upset were you?
15. People made fun of you because you were afraid to do something.
16. How upset were you?
17. People said you acted dumb.
18. How upset were you?
19. People laughed at you because you didn’t understand something.
20. How upset were you?
21. People teased you because you didn’t get a joke.
22. How upset were you?