Attitudes Toward Self (ATS)

Abstract

The Attitudes Toward Self (ATS) instrument is a psychological measure designed to assess three specific self-regulatory vulnerabilities believed to contribute to the development of depression. These constructs include the holding of overly high standards, the tendency toward self-criticism following failure, and the tendency for negative generalization from a single failure experience to the broader sense of self-worth. Research consistently indicates that the generalization component is the most robust and unique predictor of depressive symptoms. Furthermore, the ATS has been used to suggest a divergence in cognitive vulnerabilities related to depressive versus manic episodes in bipolar disorder.

Keywords

Attitudes Toward Self, ATS, depression, self-criticism, high standards, generalization, self-worth, vulnerability, cognitive correlates.

Authors

Carver, C. S.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Attitudes Toward Self (ATS) scale is to quantify specific cognitive and self-regulatory patterns that predispose individuals to depressive symptoms. It was specifically developed to measure three distinct dimensions of self-evaluation that act as potential vulnerabilities to psychological distress when interacting with adverse life events.

The instrument provides researchers and clinicians with a tool to dissect the underlying mechanisms of self-concept fragility. By separating dimensions like demanding standards from the process of generalization, the ATS allows for a more nuanced understanding of how failures translate into systemic negative self-appraisal, which is highly relevant in the study of mood disorders.

Construct

The ATS measures three factorially distinct psychological constructs, each representing a facet of attitude toward the self, particularly in response to perceived failure or inadequate performance. These constructs are:

• High Standards: This measures the extent to which an individual holds overly stringent or demanding expectations for their own behavior and performance, often exceeding those of others.
• Self-Criticism: This assesses the tendency to react with immediate and intense negative self-judgment (e.g., anger or upset) when performance falls short of expectations.
• Generalization: This is the tendency to extrapolate a negative evaluation stemming from a single failure or fault to the entire global sense of self-worth or capability. Research indicates that this specific construct is the most crucial predictor uniquely related to depression.

Crucially, studies using the ATS have demonstrated that while high standards and self-criticism are important components of negative self-evaluation, the ability to generalize failure—that is, allowing a single bad outcome to taint the broader self-concept—is the unique cognitive vulnerability linked to depressive symptomology, often acting as a prospective predictor when combined with adverse events.

Validity

The ATS has demonstrated substantial predictive relevance, particularly concerning concurrent depression. The scale was validated based on its ability to distinguish individuals prone to depression through the measured constructs, especially the Generalization subscale. Research consistently shows that only this subscale uniquely relates to depressive symptoms (Carver et al., 1988).

Further evidence of validity comes from studies differentiating vulnerabilities in bipolar disorder. Findings suggest that the Generalization construct specifically relates to depressive episodes but not manic episodes, supporting the instrument’s discriminant validity in distinguishing between different mood states and underlying cognitive vulnerabilities.

Reliability

Internal consistency, measured using Cronbach’s Alpha, has been established across several research samples, demonstrating acceptable reliability for all three subscales of the ATS. The average alpha reliabilities reported in these samples were:

• High Standards Scale: .76
• Self-Criticism Scale: .78
• Generalization Scale: .78

These values indicate good internal consistency, suggesting that the items within each scale reliably measure their intended construct. Furthermore, demographic analyses noted a stronger tendency toward the Generalization construct among women in the studied samples.

Factor Analysis

The psychometric evaluation of the ATS confirms that its three scales—High Standards, Self-Criticism, and Generalization—are factorially distinct. This means that the items comprising each subscale load onto separate factors, supporting the theoretical model that these are three unique, though potentially related, self-regulatory vulnerabilities.

This factorial distinctness is crucial for the utility of the ATS, as it allows researchers to isolate the unique predictive power of the Generalization scale regarding depressive symptoms, separate from the more general tendencies toward high standards or immediate self-criticism.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-Report Questionnaire

Format: 10-item Likert-type scale (5-point response format)

Language Available: English (Primary)

Population Group: Clinical and Non-Clinical Samples

Age Group: Adults (Typically college samples and clinical populations have been used in primary research)

Population Details: Primarily designed to measure self-regulatory vulnerabilities to depression.

Test Methodology: Respondents rate their agreement with statements using a 5-point scale (1 = I agree a lot to 5 = I disagree a lot). Scoring involves reverse-coding all items except Item 5.

Keywords

Cognitive vulnerability, mood disorders, self-regulation, self-concept, psychometrics, Cronbach’s Alpha, predictive validity, self-evaluation, affective correlates.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was first introduced and detailed in academic literature in 1988 (Carver et al., 1988). The scale is widely used in academic research. Information regarding current commercial permissions or associated fees is not explicitly provided in the source material.

Reference’s

• Eisner, L. R., Johnson, S. L., & Carver, C. S. (2008). Cognitive responses to failure and success relate uniquely to bipolar depression versus mania. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 117, 154-163.
• Carver, C. S., & Johnson, S. L. (2009). Tendencies toward mania and tendencies toward depression have distinct motivational, affective, and cognitive correlates. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 33, 552-569.
• Carver, C. S. (1998). Generalization, adverse events, and development of depressive symptoms. Journal of Personality, 66, 609-620.
• Carver, C. S., La Voie, L., Kuhl, J., & Ganellen, R. J. (1988). Cognitive concomitants of depression: A further examination of the roles of generalization, high standards, and self-criticism. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 7, 350-365.
• Hayes, A. M., Harris, M. S., & Carver, C. S. (2004). Predictors of self-esteem variability. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 28, 369-385.

Items of the Attitudes Toward Self (ATS)

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

Respond to each of the following statements by marking a number on your answer sheet. Do not leave any items blank. Please be as honest as you can throughout, and try not to let your answer to one item influence your answers to other items. There are no correct or incorrect answers. You are simply to express your own personal feelings. For each statement, indicate how much you agree or disagree with it, by choosing one of the following responses:

• 1 = I agree a lot
• 2 = I agree a little
• 3 = I’m in the middle–I neither agree nor disagree
• 4 = I Disagree a little
• 5 = I Disagree a lot

1. Compared to other people, I expect a lot from myself.
2. When even one thing goes wrong I begin to wonder if I can do well at anything at all.
3. I get angry with myself if my efforts don’t lead to the results I wanted.
4. When it comes to setting standards for my behavior, I aim higher than most people.
5. I hardly ever let unhappiness over one bad time influence my feelings abut other parts of my life.
6. When I don’t do as well as I hoped to, I often get upset with myself.
7. I set higher goals for myself than other people seem to.
8. If I notice one fault of mine, it makes me think about my other faults.
9. I get unhappy with anything less than what I expected of myself.
10. A single failure can change me from feeling OK to seeing only the bad in myself.

Reverse-code all items except 5

High Standards = Items 1, 4, 7
Self-Criticism = Items 3, 6, 9
Generalization = Items 2, 5, 8, 10