Self-Monitoring Scale – Revised

Abstract

The Self-Monitoring Scale – revised (SMS-R) is a 13-item instrument developed by Lennox and Wolfe (1984) to address psychometric limitations and conceptual ambiguities present in the original 25-item Self-Monitoring Scale developed by Mark Snyder. Unlike the original scale, the SMS-R is explicitly designed as a multidimensional measure of self-monitoring, focusing on two distinct, measurable factors: the individual’s skill in modifying their self-presentation and their sensitivity to the expressive behavior of others. This revision utilizes a 6-point Likert scale and has demonstrated improved internal consistency and construct validity across various populations.

Keywords

Self-monitoring, personality, social psychology, expressive behavior, self-presentation, social skills, revised scale, individual differences.

Authors

R. D. Lennox, R. N. Wolfe.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Self-Monitoring Scale – revised is to accurately assess the degree to which individuals regulate their expressive behavior to fit immediate social situations. Developed in 1984, the scale sought to refine the construct originally proposed by Snyder by separating it into two distinct, measurable components that represent both the active ability (modification) and the receptive ability (sensitivity) required for effective social adaptation.

The instrument provides researchers and clinicians with a streamlined and psychometrically robust measure of social responsiveness, allowing for a more nuanced understanding of how individuals manage impressions and react to social cues in diverse settings. The revised structure aids in identifying specific deficits or strengths within the broader framework of self-monitoring.

Construct

The SMS-R measures the psychological construct of Self-Monitoring, defined as the individual difference in the degree to which people attend to and control their expressive behavior. Lennox and Wolfe posited that self-monitoring is not a unitary trait but rather comprises two primary, empirically separable dimensions:

• Ability to modify self-presentation: This factor reflects the individual’s practical skill in altering their behavior, demeanor, and appearance to create a desired impression or meet situational demands. It addresses the “how-to” aspect of social performance.
• Sensitivity to expressive behavior of others: This factor reflects the individual’s attentiveness and skill in decoding the verbal and non-verbal cues provided by others, such as facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language, which informs their subsequent behavioral modifications.

These two components collectively capture the dynamic process of social interaction, differentiating those who merely observe social cues from those who possess the skill set necessary to effectively utilize those observations.

Validity

The validity of the Self-Monitoring Scale – revised is strongly supported by its derived two-factor structure, which provides enhanced construct validity compared to the original, often criticized, unitary scale. Subsequent research, such as that by Cramer and Gruman (2002), confirmed the latent structure of the scale, demonstrating that the two factors are robust and maintain gender invariance.

The scale’s focused item content ensures content validity by directly sampling behaviors and attitudes related to social observation and behavioral adjustment. Furthermore, the SMS-R has demonstrated predictive utility in various fields, including organizational behavior and social psychology, where it successfully correlates with outcomes such as leadership emergence and adaptation to workplace norms.

Reliability

The SMS-R exhibits satisfactory levels of internal consistency, indicating reliable measurement across its subscales. The original analysis reported the following Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients:

• Total Scale Reliability: 0.84
• Ability to modify self-presentation (Factor 1) Reliability: 0.77
• Sensitivity to expressive behavior of others (Factor 2) Reliability: 0.70

These values demonstrate that the scale, and its individual subscales, consistently measure the underlying constructs. The high overall reliability (0.84) suggests that the 13 items function cohesively as an integrated measure of revised self-monitoring.

Factor Analysis

Lennox and Wolfe utilized factor analysis during the revision process, leading to the identification and confirmation of two distinct, orthogonal factors. This finding was a crucial improvement over the original scale, which often failed to yield a clear, singular factor structure.

The two factors identified are:

1. Ability to modify self-presentation (Items 1, 3, 7, 9, 10, 12, and 13).
2. Sensitivity to expressive behavior of others (Items 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 11).

This clear bifactorial structure provides strong support for the conceptual distinction between the active behavioral control components and the perceptual social awareness components of self-monitoring, enhancing the utility of the scale in research settings.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report personality inventory

Format: 13 items rated on a 6-point Likert scale (0 = certainly, always false to 5 = certainly, always true). Items 9 and 12 require reverse scoring.

Language Available: English (original, translations may exist in subsequent studies).

Population Group: General population, used extensively in academic and organizational settings.

Age Group: Adolescents and Adults.

Population Details: Applicable to individuals capable of self-reflection and understanding complex social dynamics.

Test Methodology: Respondents indicate their level of agreement with each statement. Scores are calculated by summing the responses, adjusting for reverse-scored items, either to yield a total self-monitoring score or separate scores for the two subscales (Ability to modify self-presentation and Sensitivity to expressive behavior of others).

Keywords

Social adaptation, impression management, psychometrics, personality assessment, behavioral control, social awareness, Lennox and Wolfe.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source material.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source material.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 1984.

Permissions and Fees: The scale is widely used in academic and research settings and is generally considered available for non-commercial research use, though users should confirm the specific permissions required by the original authors or their institutions. The instrument and scoring details are frequently published in the public domain for academic use.

The original PDF documents containing the instrument can be accessed via these links: https://www.alz.washington.edu/NONMEMBER/FTLD/FTLD-IVP-C6F.pdf and http://www.communicationcache.com/uploads/1/0/8/8/10887248/revision_of_the_self-monitoring_scale..pdf.

Reference’s

• Lennox, R. D., & Wolfe, R. N. (1984). Revision of the Self-Monitoring Scale. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 1349–1364.
• Cramer, K. M., & Gruman, J. A. (2002). The Lennox and Wolfe Revised Self-Monitoring Scale: Latent structure and gender invariance. Personality and Individual Differences, 32(4), 627-637.
• Lipka, Phillip, “Sexual Minorities in the Workplace: An Examination of Individual Differences That Affect Responses to Workplace Heterosexism” (2010). All Dissertations. Paper 539.

Items of the Self-Monitoring Scale – revised

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

1. In social situations‚ I have the ability to alter my behavior if I feel that something else is called for.
2. I am often able to read people’s true emotions correctly through their eyes.
3. I have the ability to control the way I come across to people‚ depending on the impression I wish to give them.
4. In conversations‚ I am sensitive to even the slightest change in the facial expression of the person I’m conversing with.
5. My powers of intuition are quite good when it comes to understanding others’ emotions and motives.
6. I can usually tell when others consider a joke to be in bad taste‚ even though they may laugh convincingly.
7. When I feel that the image I am portraying isn’t working I can readily change it to something that does.
8. I can usually tell when I’ve said something inappropriate by reading it in the listener’s eyes.
9. I have trouble changing my behavior to suit different people and different situations.
10. I have found that I can adjust my behaviour to meet the requirements of any situation I find myself in.
11. If someone is lying to me‚ I usually know it at once from that person’s manner of expression.
12. Even when it might be to my advantage‚ I have difficulty putting up a good front.
13. Once I know what the situation calls for‚ it’s easy for me to regulate my actions accordingly.

Scoring Details:

• Response format: 0 = certainly, always false to 5 = certainly, always true.
• Items 9 and 12 require reverse scoring.
• Ability to modify self-presentation items: 1, 3, 7, 9, 10, 12, and 13.
• Sensitivity to expressive behavior of others items: 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 11.