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The Dispositional Positive Emotion Scales (DPES)

The Dispositional Positive Emotion Scales (DPES) questionnaire is a 38-item, self-report instrument with seven 5- or 6-item subscales: joy, contentment, pride, love, compassion, amusement, and awe. Respondents are asked how much they identify with each of the items within each subscale (or emotions).

Categories

Geographies Tested: United States of America

Populations Included: Female, Male

Age Range: Adults

Items:

Joy
1. I often feel bursts of joy.
2. I am an intensely cheerful person.
3. I am often completely overjoyed when something good happens.
4. On a typical day, many events make me happy.
5. Good things happen to me all the time.
6. My life is always improving.

Contentment
7. I am generally a contented person.
8. I am at peace with my life.
9. When I think about my life I experience a deep feeling of contentment.
10. I feel satisfied more often than most people.
11. My life is very fulfilling.

Pride
12. I feel good about myself.
13. I am proud of myself and my accomplishments.
14. Many people respect me.
15. I always stand up for what I believe.
16. People usually recognize my authority.

Love
17. Other people are generally trustworthy.
18. I develop strong feelings of closeness to people easily.
19. I find it easy to trust others.
20. I can depend on people when I need help.
21. People are usually considerate of my needs and feelings.
22. I love many people.

Compassion
23. It’s important to take care of people who are vulnerable.
24. When I see someone hurt or in need, I feel a powerful urge to take care of them.
25. Taking care of others gives me a warm feeling inside.
26. I often notice people who need help.
27. I am a very compassionate person.

Amusement
28. I find humor in almost everything.
29. I really enjoy teasing people I care about.
30. I am very easily amused.
31. The people around me make a lot of jokes.
32. I make jokes about everything.

Awe
33. I often feel awe.
34. I see beauty all around me.
35. I feel wonder almost every day.
36. I often look for patterns in the objects around me.
37. I have many opportunities to see the beauty of nature.
38. I seek out experiences that challenge my understanding of the world.

Response Options:
7-point Likert scale
Strongly disagree- 1
Strongly agree - 7

Scoring Procedures

Not Available

Original Citation

Shiota, M. N., Keltner, D., & John, O. P. (2006). Positive emotion dispositions differentially associated with Big Five personality and attachment style. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 1(2), 61-71. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760500510833


Psychometric Score

Ease of Use Score

Scoring breakdown

Formative Research

Qualitative Research

Existing Literature/Theoretical Framework

Field Expert Input

Cognitive Interviews / Pilot Testing

Reliability

Internal

Test-retest

Interrater

Validity

Content

Face

Criterion (gold-standard)

Construct

KEY

Ease of Use

Readability

Scoring Clarity

Length

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