The Profile of Mood States (POMS) is a relatively new psychological rating scale used to assess transient, distinct mood states. This scale was developed by McNair, Droppleman, and Lorr (1971). Advantages of using this assessment include the simplicity of administration and ease of participant understanding. Another feature of the assessment that is notable is POMS psychological states can be assessed quickly due to the simplicity of the test. POMS can be administered and measured through written or online forums. The POMS measures six different dimensions of mood swings over a period of time. These include: Tension or Anxiety, Anger or Hostility, Vigor or Activity, Fatigue or Inertia, Depression or Dejection, Confusion or Bewilderment. A five-point scale ranging from "not at all" to "extremely" is administered by experimenters to patients to assess their mood states. There are two forms of the test; the long form that is administered primarily to adults and the short form which is primarily administered to adolescents. Completion of the assessment can take 5–15 minutes, depending on the form.
Contents
History
In 1971, Douglas M. McNair along with Maurice Lorr and Leo F. Droppleman developed the first Profile of Mood States which became the building block for being able to measure mood changes in people. With creating this scale, McNair and his colleagues came up with six distinct dimensions of mood swings that anyone can experience over time; Tension or Anxiety, Depression of Dejection, Anger or Hostility, Vigor or Activity, Fatigue or Inertia, and Confusion or Bewilderment. The first edition of the POMS scale is made up of 65 self-report questions where participants use a Likert scale to indicate whether each question related to them or not. This scale was the only in existence until 1983 when S. Shacham created the POMS-SF, a more concise version of McNair's original creation. Composed of only 37 questions, the shortened version still could produce significant results for participants while dramatically cutting down on the time it took to take the test. Recently there has been an updated edition created by McNair and Juvia P. Heurchert, the Profile of Mood States 2nd Edition (POMS 2). Like the original one created in 1971, this one also includes a short and long form of the test with 35 & 65 questions respectively.
POMS - long form
The first edition of the Profile of Mood States scale is known as the POMS-Standard version or the POMS-long form. It was developed by McNair, Lorr, and Doppleman in 1971 and is still in use today. Composed of 65 questions, those taking the test are asked to give a self-report for each question on how well they do or do not relate. Most those who complete this test are adults and it takes approximately 5–15 minutes. With an extensive amount of questions, the data that is collected from the test can provide the participants with data that is reliable and consistent. One of the drawbacks of the POMS-long form scale is including too many questions. This can limit those who have a physical illness or some type of impairment that does not allow them to fully complete the test to the best of their ability.
POMS - short form
The second edition of the Profile of mood states scale is known as the POMS-short form. POMS measures six different dimensions of mood swings over a period of time. These include: Tension or Anxiety, Anger or Hostility, Vigor or Activity, Fatigue or Inertia, Depression or Dejection, Confusion or Bewilderment. The short version of POMS was introduced in 1983 by S. Shacham, this version reduced the amount of questions down to 37 from the original long-form's 65. The short form still covers all aspects and accurately exhibits the mood states of those who took this form. The short form is considered to be a great alternative to the long form if a briefer measure of psychological distress is needed.
Definitions
To understand what the POMS is examining, it is important to first understand the personality traits that are examined. These include tension, anxiety, anger, hostility, vigor, activity, fatigue, inertia, depression, dejection, confusion, and bewilderment. First is tension. Tension is a physical and psychological emotion that is combined with discomfort and pressure to find a way to alleviate it by talking about it or acting on it. Next is anxiety which is defined as a mood state shown by worry, apprehension and somatic symptoms. Another personality trait that the POMS focuses on is anger. Anger has been given the definition of "an emotion characterized by hostility and the expression of frustration." Next is hostility, which in this context is referred to as basic hostility. Basic hostility is described as a hostile pattern characterized as a bad attitude. One other personality trait that the POMS assesses is vigor. Vigor has been defined as a physiological and psychological energy. Fatigue is also a focus with the POMS. A psychology dictionary defines fatigue as a period of extreme tiredness which can come about from emotional strain, physical exertion, boredom, or a general lack of rest and/or sleep. The next pairing is inertia and depression. Inertia has been defined as lower or no activity. Next is depression. Depression has been defined in a dictionary as a type of dysphoria. Dejection is yet another personality trait in the POMS and is described as a lowness of spirits. One of the last traits to define from the POMS is confusion. Confusion seems like common knowledge but is defined in psychology as a disruption of awareness marked by amazement, lack of cognitive or behavioral clarity, and confusion or place, individual, and time. Confusion can also be referred to as mental confusion. The last term to define pertaining to the POMS is bewilderment. A dictionary has defined bewilderment as a confusing tangle of objects or conditions.
Contributors
The most prominent contributors of POMS would be Douglas M. McNair, Maurice Lorr, and Leo F. Droppleman and their department of Psychology. McNair and Lorr began their practices and research in Washington DC, Outpatient Psychotherapy Laboratory when they continuously struggled with assessing changed mood states. Both were intrigued with the short and long term effects of psychotherapies and pharmacologic treatments. McNair and Lorr came up with the first mood measure, the Psychiatric Outpatient Mood Scale (POMS). Although it was never completely what he wished it to be. McNair continued to work and revise POMS several times but POMS was not recognized until he moved to Boston University in 1964. McNair worked closely with Leo F. Droppleman while continuing a long distance collaboration with Lorr. Late 60's to early 70's, "Psychiatric Outpatient Mood Scale" was changed to "Profile of Mood States." They continue to collaborate and revised more data on outpatients which would result in the making of the 65 five-point adjective rating scale that would coincide with the six oblique factor structure: tension-anxiety, depression-dejection, anger-hostility, fatigue, vigor, and confusion-bewilderment.