Abstract
To understand the dynamics of mental health, it is essential to develop measures for the frequency and the patterning of mental processes in every-day-life situations. The Experience-Sampling Method (ESM) is an attempt to provide a valid instrument to describe variations in self-reports of mental processes. It can be used to obtain empirical data on the following types of variables: (a) frequency and patterning of daily activity, social interaction, and changes in location; (b) frequency, intensity, and patterning of psychological states, i.e., emotional, cognitive, and conative dimensions of experience; (c) frequency and patterning of thoughts, including quality and intensity of thought disturbance. The article reviews practical and methodological issues of the ESM and presents evidence for its short-and long-term reliability when used as an instrument for assessing the variables outlined above.
This study was supported by the U.S. Public Health Service, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Spencer Foundation. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 175(9), 526–536. Copyright © 1987 Wolters Kluwer Health—Republished with permission.
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Marta Wenger and colleagues of the Collaborative Study of Children with Special Needs at the Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Boston have used ESM with several samples of physically disabled children.
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See footnote 1
- 3.
Larson (1979) The significance of time alone in adolescents’ lives. Doctoral Dissertation, The University of Chicago.
- 4.
Wells A (1985) Variations in self-esteem in the daily life of mothers, Doctoral Dissertion, The University of Chicago.
- 5.
Hoover MD (1983) Individual differences in the relation of heart rate to self-reports. Doctoral Dissertation, The University of Chicago.
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Appendix: Experience-Sampling Form
Appendix: Experience-Sampling Form
Date:________Time Beeped:__________am/pm Time Filled Out__am/pm
As you were beeped…
What were you thinking about?___________________________________________________________
Where were you?______________________________________________________________________
What was the MAIN thing you were doing?_________________________________________________
What other things were you doing?________________________________________________________
WHY were you doing this particular activity?
(□) I had to (□) I wanted to do it (□) I had nothing else to do
Not at all | Some what | Quite | Very | |||||||
How well were you concentrating? | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
Was it hard to concentrate? | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
How self-conscious were you? | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
Did you feel good about yourself? | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
Were you in control of the situation? | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
Were you living up to your own expectations? | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
Were you living up to expectations of others? | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Describe your mood as you were beeped:
Very | Quite | Some | Neither | Some | Quite | Very | ||
Alert | 0 | o | . | − | . | o | 0 | Drowsy |
Happy | 0 | o | . | − | . | o | 0 | Sad |
Irritable | 0 | o | . | − | . | o | 0 | Cheerful |
Strong | 0 | o | . | − | . | o | 0 | Weak |
Active | 0 | o | . | − | . | o | 0 | Passive |
Lonely | 0 | o | . | − | . | o | 0 | Sociable |
Ashamed | 0 | o | . | − | . | o | 0 | Proud |
Involved | 0 | o | . | − | . | o | 0 | Detached |
Excited | 0 | o | . | − | . | o | 0 | Bored |
Closed | 0 | o | . | − | . | o | 0 | Open |
Clear | 0 | o | . | − | . | o | 0 | Confused |
Tense | 0 | o | . | − | . | o | 0 | Relaxed |
Competitive | 0 | o | . | − | . | o | 0 | Cooperative |
Did you feel any physical discomfort as you were beeped:
Overall pain or discomfort | none | slight | bothersome | severe | |||||||
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | ||
Please specify:________________________________________________________
Who were you with?
(□) Alone | (□) Friend(s) | How many? |
(□) Mother | ___________________________________ | |
Female (□) | Male (□) | |
(□) Father | (□) Strangers | |
(□) Sister(s) or brother(s) | (□) Other____________ |
_________________________________________________________________________________
Indicate how you felt about your activity:
low | high | |||||||||
Challenges of the activity | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
Your skills in the activity | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
not at all | very much | |||||||||
Was this activity important to you? | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
Was this activity important to others? | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
Were you succeeding at what you were doing? | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
Do you wish you had been doing something else? | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
Were you satisfied with how you were doing? | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
How important was this activity in relation to your overall goals | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
If you had a choice… | ||||||||||
Who would you be with? ________________________________ | ||||||||||
What would you be doing?_______________________________ | ||||||||||
____________________________________________________________________________
Since you were last beeped has anything happened or have you done anything which could have affected the way you feel?
Nasty cracks, comments, etc. *****************
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Csikszentmihalyi, M., Larson, R. (2014). Validity and Reliability of the Experience-Sampling Method. In: Flow and the Foundations of Positive Psychology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9088-8_3
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