9.It would make me uncomfortable to know others
were evaluating my physique or figure.
10.When it comes to displaying my physique or
figure to others, I am a shy person.
11.I usually feel relaxed when it’s obvious that others
are looking at my physique or figure. (R)12.When in a bathing suit, I often feel nervous about
how well-proportioned my body is.
Notes :
(R) Reverse scored item.
Reproduced with permission.
Susceptibility to Embarrassment Scale (SES)
(Kelly & Jones, 1997 ).
Variable
Embarrassability refers to the general susceptibility to become embarrassed, which is a state of mortification,
abashment, and chagrin that occurs when a person’s desired public identity in a particular situation is damaged
(Miller, 2009 ).
Sample
The scale was developed on a sample of 206 American undergraduate college students (72 men, 134 women)
(Kelly & Jones, 1997 ).
Description
Although Modigliani’s (1966) Embarrassability Scale, which assesses people’s levels of embarrassment across a
variety of embarrassing incidents, remains a popular measure of embarrassability (see Leary, 1991 ), the
Susceptibility to Embarrassment Scale (SES) was designed to assess the psychological characteristics of people
who are easily embarrassed, such as the tendency to feel emotionally exposed and being concerned about pub-
licly making mistakes. The scale consists of 25 items to which participants respond on a 7-point Likert-type scale
(15not at all like me ;75very much like me ).
In the original sample of 206 American undergraduate college students, scores ranged from 30 to 149, with a
mean of 92.4 and no significant difference between men ( M594.1) and women ( M593.1). A subsequent sample
with 203 adults (84 men, 119 women) in the U.K. found statistically significantly lower scores for men ( M569.5)
and women ( M573.5) compared with the mean scores in Kelly and Jones’ (1997) sample, but no sex differences
were obtained by Maltby and Day (2000) .
Reliability
Internal Consistency
InKelly and Jones’ (1997) original sample, corrected item-total correlations ranged from 0.35 to 0.70 with a
mean of 0.56, and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.92. Maltby and Day (2000) reported that item-total correla-
tions ranged from 0.50 to 0.88, and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was found to be 0.96.
Test/C0Retest
Over an 8-week interval, the test /C0retest correlation was found to be 0.64, with item stability correlations rang-
ing from 0.30 to 0.67 ( Kelly & Jones, 1997 ).Maltby and Day (2000) found a test /C0retest correlation of 0.67 over an
8-week interval.
Validity
Convergent/Concurrent
Scores on the SES correlate strongly with the criterion item ‘I am easily embarrassed’ ( rs50.66, 0.70) and with
scores on Modigliani’s Embarrassability Scale ( rs50.60, 0.61) ( Kelly & Jones, 1997; Maltby & Day, 2000 ).
Furthermore, scores correlated appropriately with public self-consciousness ( r50.47), fear of negative evaluation
(rs50.75, 0.72), imagina ry audience ( r50.69), and various measures of social anxiety, such as audience anxiety
(r50.71), interaction anxiety ( r50.81), and social anxiety ( rs50.75/C00.81) ( Kelly & Jones, 1997; Maltby & Day,463 OVERVIEW OF THE MEASURES
IV. INTERPERSONAL STYLES