Personality Test: The Affiliative Tendency (Affiliation) Scale & Software

Personality Test: The Affiliative Tendency (or Affiliation, Sociability) Test & Software

Affiliative Tendency Defined

Affiliative persons are friendly, sociable, helpful, skillful in dealing with people, and open about their feelings. They make good companions because they are pleasant and agreeable. Others feel comfortable with them and like them.

Scale Description

The Affiliative Tendency Scale is a measure of individual differences in affiliation, friendliness, or sociability. The version being used (Mehrabian, 1994b) was developed by Mehrabian (1976). It contains 26 items and subjects report the degree of their agreement or disagreement with each item using a 9-point agreement-disagreement scale.

Affiliation Scale Software

Software for administering, scoring, and interpreting the Affiliative Tendency Scale is available. It runs on the Windows operating system and provides (a) total score, equivalent percentile score, equivalent z-score, and interpretation of these scores for each person tested and (b) a database of all three scores (total, percentile, z-score) for all individuals tested. The software is extremely easy to use and is password protected so that the Administrator can control access to the database of results. In this way, individuals being tested cannot have access to the results, unless the Administrator chooses to report such results to them.

Sample Items

I am much more attracted to warm, open people than I am to stand-offish ones.
I enjoy a good movie more than a big party.

Test Features

Administration: does not require tester to be present
Test format: questionnaire, 26 items
Appropriate population: English fluency, ages 15 and older
Time required for administration: approximately 10 minutes
Scoring: hand-scored version yields a single total-scale score; with software, scoring and interpretation are automated
Manual: contains complete scale, scoring directions, norms
Background literature: includes a review article on reliability and validity by Mehrabian (1994a)
Possible uses: (See validity data below.) To select individuals who have generally positive attitudes toward others and who are comfortable and adept in dealing with people.

Validity Data:

Reliability and validity data for the Affiliative Tendency Scale (MAFF) were reported by Mehrabian (1994a). Experimental work, reviewed by Mehrabian (1976, 1994a), can be summarized as follows: Persons with higher Affiliative Tendency Scale scores, compared with those with lower scores, are more likely to:

like others,
suffer less from "social anhedonia" (i.e., the inability to derive pleasure from social contacts),
avoid others less and feel less distress in the presence of others,
judge themselves as similar to others and as more compatible with others,
form favorable impressions of others,
make good adjustments to crowded living environments,
work at looking pleasing and attractive to others,
self-disclose intimate personal information to others,
feel confident in dealing with others,
talk more during social contacts,
act positively toward others.

Considerable additional reliability and validity information on the Abbreviated Affiliative Tendency Scale were provided by Mehrabian (2000). In particular, findings showed the Abbreviated MAFF to be a positive correlate of emotional success (i.e., general emotional well-being), relationship success (i.e., healthy and happy inter-personal relationships), and overall life success (Mehrabian, 2000, Table 10).

Construct validity for the Affiliative Tendency Scale was also supplied by Mehrabian (1997) from a theoretical analysis of traits that are approximately related to affiliation and sociability (i.e., sensitivity to rejection, empathy, dependency, conformity, popularity, loneliness, and shyness).

References:

Mehrabian, A. (1976). Questionnaire measures of affiliative tendency and sensitivity to rejection. Psychological Reports, 38, 199-209.

Mehrabian, A. (1994a). Evidence bearing on the Affiliative Tendency (MAFF) and Sensitivity to Rejection (MSR) scales. Current Psychology, 13,, 97-116.

Mehrabian, A. (1994b). Manual for the Affiliative Tendency Scale (MAFF). (Available from Albert Mehrabian, 1130 Alta Mesa Road, Monterey, CA, USA 93940).

Mehrabian, A. (1997). Analysis of affiliation-related traits in terms of the PAD Temperament Model. Journal of Psychology, 131, 101-117.

Mehrabian, A. (2000). Beyond IQ: Broad-based measurement of individual success potential or "emotional intelligence." Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs, 126, 133-239.