The software provides (a) total score, equivalent z-score, equivalent percentile score, and interpretation of these scores for each person tested and (b) a database of scores for all individuals tested. Additionally, the software includes a feature for exporting a printable text file (.txt format) of the data. Instructions are supplied for importing the text file into Excel.
The software is 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.
A common problem in personality testing is that some respondents attempt to slant their answers to make good impressions and, as a result, test results become misleading. When respondents slant answers, scores on socially undesirable traits (such as anger or violence) become lower than they would have been in the absence of response slanting. The software for the REV includes a built-in feature to help detect when such response slanting/faking occurs and warns the tester when results are "unacceptable." The latter data on response slanting are also part of the ASCII text file of all test results that can be output from the program.
Mehrabian (1997) factor analyzed the 35 items of the REV and obtained a principal components solution. Use of the eigenvalue plot together with the Scree Test showed a clear "elbow" at the second eigenvalue, suggesting a one-factor solution (see details in test manual). Thus, both in terms of internal consistency and factor structure, the REV is a highly homogeneous scale.
Findings obtained by Mehrabian (1997) show that the Risk of Eruptive Violence Scale (REV) correlated .74 with the Brief Anger and Aggression Scale (Maiuro, Vitaliano, & Cahn, 1987) and correlated .56 with the Violence Risk Scale (Plutchik & van Praag, 1990). Also, the REV correlated negatively with two measures of emotional empathy: it correlated -.43 with the Emotional Empathic Tendency Scale (Mehrabian & Epstein, 1972) and correlated -.50 with the Balanced Emotionl Empathy Scale (Mehrabian, 1996). In addition, the REV correlated negatively (r = -.49) with a general measure of Optimism-Pessimism (Scheier, Carver & Bridges, 1994), showing that greater violence risk is associated with a more general negative outlook on life.
Most importantly, in Mehrabian's (1997) study, a structured interview was used to assess the actual history of violence of prisoners. Items of the structured interview included, for example, history of fights (detailed according to use of weapons, types of weapons used, and extent of injury to others. REV scores correlated .71 with Violent History Scores of the prisoners, providing very strong validity data for the REV.
Mehrabian, A., & Epstein, N. (l972). A measure of emotional empathy. Journal of Personality, 40, 525-543.
Mehrabian, A. (1996). Manual for the Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale (BEES). (Available from Albert Mehrabian, 1130 Alta Mesa Road, Monterey, CA, USA 93940).
Mehrabian, A. (1997). Relations among personality scales of aggression, violence, and empathy: Validational evidence bearing on the Risk of Eruptive Violence Scale. Aggressive Behavior, 23, 433-445.
Plutchik, R., & van Praag, H.M. (1990). A self-report measure of violence risk, II. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 31, 450-456.
Scheier, M.F., Carver, C.S., & Bridges, M.W. (1994). Distinguishing optimism from neuroticism (and trait anxiety, self-mastery, and self-esteem): A reevaluation of the Life Orientation Test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 1063-1078.