Description of the Questionnaire

The MOSS-SASD (Management Of Shame State – Shame Acknowledgment and Shame Displacement) questionnaire aims to capture individuals’ emotional responses in the workplace in situations that provoke shame or pride. It includes two main scenarios. The first scenario (MOSS-SASD Scenario) concerns a situation where the individual publicly criticizes a colleague and is asked to assess the extent to which they experience feelings of shame or displace responsibility. The second scenario (MOPS Scenario) describes the successful resolution of a difficult work-related problem and explores whether the individual experiences narcissistic or humble pride. The questionnaire evaluates four emotional responses: Shame Acknowledgment, Shame Displacement, Narcissistic Pride, and Humble Pride.

Objective

The objective of the questionnaire is to measure and understand the ways in which individuals manage feelings of shame and pride in the professional environment. It aims to identify the tendency of individuals to either accept or deflect responsibility in challenging interpersonal situations, and to determine how they perceive and express success. The findings can contribute to exploring the relationship between emotional responses and phenomena such as workplace bullying, collaboration, professional ethics, and leadership.

Data Analysis and Usage

Responses are given on a five-point Likert scale (1 = definitely not, 5 = definitely). Each subscale demonstrates strong internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranging from .80 to .91. Specifically, Shame Acknowledgment has a mean of 2.28, standard deviation (SD) = 0.83, and α = .80; Shame Displacement has a mean of 2.29, SD = 1.13, and α = .86; Narcissistic Pride has a mean of 2.32, SD = 1.12, and α = .91; and Humble Pride has a mean of 3.05, SD = 1.00, and α = .86. The questionnaire data can be analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and may also be used in correlational studies with other workplace-related variables such as job satisfaction or perceptions of leadership.

Scoring

Responses are scored on a five-point scale, where 1 corresponds to “definitely not”, 2 to “unlikely”, 3 to “unsure”, 4 to “probably”, and 5 to “definitely”. The scale enables a quantitative assessment of the intensity of participants’ emotional responses and allows for comparisons between different individual profiles or workplace contexts.

Bibliography

Ahmed, Eliza (2011), “Shame, pride and workplace bullying,” in Karstedt, S., Loader, I., and Strang, H. (eds.), Emotions, Crime and Justice, Hart Publishing, Oxford. Braithwaite, V., Ahmed, E. (2011), Workplace Bullying and Victimization: The Influence of Organizational Context, Shame and Pride.