RESUMEN
Schadenfreude is a social emotion that describes one's happiness at the misfortune of others. Because people experience schadenfreude to different extents, it can also be considered a trait. The present research aimed to develop a trait measure of schadenfreude and investigate the relationship between schadenfreude and political downfalls. We developed an item pool and used exploratory (Study 1) and confirmatory (Study 2) factor analyses to establish a 12-item, two-factor schadenfreude measure: benign and malicious. We also assessed its test-retest reliability (Study 3) and convergent validity with related measures (Study 4). Findings supported a two-factor schadenfreude measure that produced valid and reliable scores (Studies 1-4). In an experiment, we found a positive correlation between episodic-but not trait-schadenfreude on spreading news of a politician's downfall (Study 5). Using a 3 (Political affiliation: Democrat, Republican, or other) × 3 (Manipulated condition: Democrat, Republican, or CEO) design, we examined the extent to which participants' schadenfreude predicted their intentions and choices to share an embarrassing news story about a politician or CEO via social media. Schadenfreude can be assessed as a reliable trait-one that may help us predict why some people intend to spread news of embarrassing political failures.
Asunto(s)
Desastres , Emociones/fisiología , Celos , Placer/fisiología , Política , Adolescente , Adulto , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Actitud , Empatía/fisiología , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Conducta Social , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
In contexts that increasingly demand brief self-report measures (e.g., experience sampling, longitudinal and field studies), researchers seek succinct surveys that maintain reliability and validity. One such measure is the 12-item Brief Aggression Questionnaire (BAQ; Webster et al., 2014), which uses 4 3-item subscales: Physical Aggression, Verbal Aggression, Anger, and Hostility. Although prior work suggests the BAQ's scores are reliable and valid, we addressed some lingering concerns. Across 3 studies (N = 1,279), we found that the BAQ had a 4-factor structure, possessed long-term test-retest reliability across 12 weeks, predicted differences in behavioral aggression over time in a laboratory experiment, generalized to a diverse nonstudent sample, and showed convergent validity with a displaced aggression measure. In addition, the BAQ's 3-item Anger subscale showed convergent validity with a trait anger measure. We discuss the BAQ's potential reliability, validity, limitations, and uses as an efficient measure of aggressive traits.
Asunto(s)
Agresión/psicología , Ira , Hostilidad , Adolescente , Adulto , Análisis Factorial , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Psicometría , Reproducibilidad de los Resultados , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
A key problem facing aggression research is how to measure individual differences in aggression accurately and efficiently without sacrificing reliability or validity. Researchers are increasingly demanding brief measures of aggression for use in applied settings, field studies, pretest screening, longitudinal, and daily diary studies. The authors selected the three highest loading items from each of the Aggression Questionnaire's (Buss & Perry, 1992) four subscales--Physical Aggression, Verbal Aggression, anger, and hostility--and developed an efficient 12-item measure of aggression--the Brief Aggression Questionnaire (BAQ). Across five studies (N = 3,996), the BAQ showed theoretically consistent patterns of convergent and discriminant validity with other self-report measures, consistent four-factor structures using factor analyses, adequate recovery of information using item response theory methods, stable test-retest reliability, and convergent validity with behavioral measures of aggression. The authors discuss the reliability, validity, and efficiency of the BAQ, along with its many potential applications.