Attitudes Towards Self ATS

Abstract

The Attitudes Toward Self (ATS) scale is a concise, 10-item psychometric instrument developed primarily by Charles S. Carver and colleagues to assess specific self-regulatory vulnerabilities implicated in the development and maintenance of depression. The scale is theoretically structured around three distinct factors: the tendency to hold overly high standards, the propensity for self-criticism following failure, and the tendency toward cognitive generalization. Empirical findings consistently highlight generalization—the cognitive mechanism of extrapolating a single failure into a global assessment of low self-worth—as the unique and powerful component linking self-regulatory style to depressive symptoms. This generalization factor has also been identified as a prospective predictor of depression, particularly when interacting with adverse life events, and has been shown to diverge from vulnerabilities associated with mania in bipolar disorder.

Keywords

Attitudes Toward Self, ATS, Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Self-Criticism, High Standards, Cognitive Generalization, Self-Regulatory Vulnerability, Psychometrics.

Authors

Charles S. Carver, L. La Voie, J. Kuhl, R. J. Ganellen, L. R. Eisner, S. L. Johnson, A. M. Hayes, M. S. Harris.

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Purpose

The primary purpose of the Attitudes Toward Self (ATS) scale is to efficiently quantify specific cognitive and self-evaluative styles that render individuals vulnerable to the onset or recurrence of mood disorders, particularly depression. Its brevity, comprising only ten items, makes it highly conducive for use in research settings that require an extensive battery of measures without overburdening participants.

The instrument was designed to test the differential impact of three potential self-regulatory mechanisms on psychological well-being. By isolating these factors, the ATS allows researchers to pinpoint which specific self-evaluative patterns—high standards, reactive self-criticism, or maladaptive generalization—are most strongly and uniquely predictive of depressive outcomes.

Construct

The ATS scale measures three distinct, yet related, dimensions of self-regulation and cognitive vulnerability to depression:

• High Standards: This factor assesses the tendency to set exceptionally demanding or perfectionistic goals and expectations for one’s own behavior, often aiming higher than perceived peers.
• Self-Criticism: This dimension captures the negative, punitive emotional response and resulting distress (e.g., anger, upset) that arises when an individual fails to achieve desired results or meet their high standards.
• Generalization: This is the core construct of interest, measuring the tendency to take a single, localized failure or fault and generalize that negative conclusion to a broader assessment of one’s overall competence, self-worth, or other domains of life.

Validity

Strong empirical evidence supports the predictive and divergent validity of the ATS, particularly concerning the Generalization subscale. Initial validation work (Carver et al., 1988) demonstrated that while high standards and self-criticism are common, only generalization showed a unique statistical relationship with depressive symptoms.

Longitudinal studies have established the prospective validity of the generalization factor, showing that it predicts the subsequent development of depression, especially when individuals experience significant adverse life events (Carver, 1998). Furthermore, the scale has proven useful in distinguishing specific vulnerabilities within the affective disorders, with generalization correlating strongly with depressive symptoms but exhibiting divergence from traits associated with mania, supporting a clear distinction between vulnerabilities associated with the depressive versus manic poles of bipolar disorder (Eisner et al., 2008; Carver & Johnson, 2009).

Reliability

The reliability of the ATS is inferred through the consistent replication of its three-factor structure and the sustained predictive power of its subscales across numerous studies spanning several decades. Although specific internal consistency coefficients (e.g., Cronbach’s alpha) for the subscales are typically detailed in the primary literature, the repeated confirmation of the unique relationship between the Generalization factor and depression provides robust evidence for its measurement stability.

Factor Analysis

The structure of the ATS is based on a three-factor model, corresponding to the three proposed self-regulatory vulnerabilities. The ten items of the scale are specifically loaded onto these factors as follows:

• High Standards: Items 1, 4, 7
• Self-Criticism: Items 3, 6, 9
• Generalization: Items 2, 5 (reverse-coded), 8, 10

This distinct factor loading facilitates the independent examination of each cognitive style, confirming that the measurement of generalization is separate from the measurement of merely setting high goals or reacting negatively to failure.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire / Psychometric scale

Format: 5-point Likert scale

Language Available: English (Original)

Population Group: General population and clinical samples (e.g., those vulnerable to or suffering from mood disorders)

Age Group: Adolescent to Adult

Population Details: Primarily used to measure cognitive vulnerability to depression in research settings.

Test Methodology: Respondents indicate their level of agreement or disagreement with each statement using a 5-point scale. Responses are then scored, with all items except Item 5 being reverse-coded prior to subscale summation.

Keywords

Self-worth, Cognitive Vulnerability, Mood Disorders, Affective Correlates, Self-Criticism, High Standards, Bipolar Disorder, Psychodiagnostics.

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source. Correspondence often directed to the primary author’s academic institution.

Correspondence Address: Refer to institutional contact information for Charles S. Carver (e.g., University of Miami, Department of Psychology).

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale is widely used in academic research. The seminal publication detailing the scale and its structure was Carver et al. (1988). Researchers are generally encouraged to seek permission from the primary author, Charles S. Carver, for use, although the scale items and scoring are often made publicly available for non-commercial academic research.

Reference’s

• 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.
• Carver, C. S. (1998). Generalization, adverse events, and development of depressive symptoms. Journal of Personality, 66, 609-620. [abstract]
• Hayes, A. M., Harris, M. S., & Carver, C. S. (2004). Predictors of self-esteem variability. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 28, 369-385. [abstract]
• 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. [abstract]
• 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. [abstract]
• Additional information regarding the scale and related research may be found at the primary author’s website: http://www.psy.miami.edu/faculty/ccarver/index.phtml

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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.

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ATS

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.

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Reverse-code all items except 5

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