Individual differences in dispositional expressiveness: development and validation of the Emotional Expressivity Scale.

Although emotional expressivity figures prominently in several theories of psychological and physical functioning, limitations of currently available measurement techniques impede precise and economical testing of these theories. The 17-item Emotional Expressivity Scale (EES) was designed as a self-report measure of the extent to which people outwardly display their emotions. Reliability studies showed the EES to be an internally consistent and stable individual-difference measure. Validational studies established initial convergent and discriminant validities, a moderate relationship between self-rated and other-rated expression, and correspondence between self-report and laboratory-measured expressiveness using both college student and community populations. The potential for the EES to promote and integrate findings across diverse areas of research is discussed.