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Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS)

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Handbook of Assessment in Mindfulness Research

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Abstract

The Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS) is a 30-item, 3-factor self-report measure of perceived emotional intelligence, which had relevance for mindfulness research. The scale was designed to provide an index of meta-mood experience which involves monitoring, evaluating, and regulating emotions. The TMMS purports to measure three components of emotional intelligence, which corresponds to its three subscales, namely Attention (attention to feelings), Clarity (emotional clarity), and Repair (mood repair). The Attention subscale measures attention to feelings, that is how much attention individuals pay to their inner feelings and emotional states. Clarity subscale assesses emotional clarity, the ability to understand and discriminate among feelings in oneself. Repair subscale examines mood repair, the ability to regulate moods and repair negative emotional experiences. The preliminary psychometric evaluation studies demonstrated TMMS has sound internal consistency, test-retest reliability, discriminant validity, and convergent validity. Later studies have raised concerns about the discriminant validity of the Repair subscale and construct validity of the Clarity subscale. Other limitations include lack of cultural sensitivity of the Attention scale, situational specificity, and mood specificity. Despite its limitations, the TMMS has potential utility in measuring emotional reflective processes, particularly an individual’s ability to monitor and manage emotions. The use of the scale has grown rapidly across different cultures, with translations into at least five languages. It has been widely used with clinical, educational, and organizational studies. Further research is needed to improve the construct and discriminant validity of the TMMS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University, Smithfield, QLD, Australia

    Kishani Townshend

Authors
  1. Kishani Townshend
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Correspondence to Kishani Townshend .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

    Oleg N. Medvedev

  2. North Shore Campus, Auckland Univ of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand

    Christian U. Krägeloh

  3. Dept of Psychology and Neuroscience, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand

    Richard J. Siegert

  4. Augusta University, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Nirbhay N. Singh

Appendices

Appendix I: Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TTMS-30)

  

1

(Strongly disagree)

2

(Somewhat disagree)

3

(Neither agree or disagree)

4

(Somewhat agree)

5

(Strongly disagree)

1

I try to think good thoughts no matter how badly I feel. (Repair)

     

2

People would be better off if they felt less and thought more. (Attention [R])

     

3

I don’t think it’s worth paying attention to your emotions or moods. (Attention [R])

     

4

I don’t usually care much about what I’m feeling. (Attention [R]).

     

5

Sometimes I can’t tell what my feelings are. (Clarity [R])

     

6

I am really confused about how I feel. (Clarity)

     

7

Feelings give direction to life. (Attention)

     

8

Although I am sometimes sad, I have a mostly optimistic outlook. (Repair [R])

     

9

When I am upset I realize that the “good things in life” are illusions. (Repair [R])

     

10

I believe in acting from the heart (Attention [A])

     

11

I can never tell how I am feeling. (Clarity [R])

     

12

The best way for me to handle my feelings is to experience them to the fullest. (Attention)

     

13

When I become upset I remind myself of all the pleasures in life. (Repair)

     

14

My belief and opinions always seem to change depending on how I feel. (Clarity [R])

     

15

I am often aware of my feelings on matter. (Clarity)

     

16

I am usually confused about how I feel. (Clarity [R]).

     

17

One should never be guided by emotions. (Attention [R])

     

18

I never give into my emotions. (Attention [R])

     

19

Although I am sometimes happy, I have a mostly pessimistic outlook. (Repair [R)

     

20

I feel at ease about my emotions. (Clarity)

     

21

I pay a lot of attention to how I feel. (Attention)

     

22

I can’t make sense out of my feelings. (Clarity [R])

     

23

I don’t pay much attention to my feelings. (Attention)

     

24

I often think about my feelings. (Attention)

     

25

I am usually very clear about my feelings. (Clarity)

     

26

No matter how badly I feel, I try to think about pleasant things. (Repair)

     

27

Feelings are a weakness humans have. (Attention [R])

     

28

I usually know my feelings about a matter. (Clarity)

     

29

It is usually a waste of time to think about your emotions. (Attention [R])

     

30

I almost always know exactly how I am feeling. (Clarity)

     

Appendix II: Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS-24)

  

1

(Strongly disagree)

2

(Somewhat disagree)

3

(Neither agree or disagree)

4

(Somewhat agree)

5

(Strongly disagree)

1

I pay a lot of attention to my feelings (Attention)

     

2.

I am usually very conscious of what I feel. (Attention)

     

3

I usually spend time thinking about my emotions. (Attention)

     

4

I think my emotions and state of mind deserve to be paid attention to. (Attention)

     

5

I allow my feelings to affect my thoughts. (Attention)

     

6

I constantly think about my state of mind. (Attention)

     

7

I often think about my feelings. (Attention)

     

8

I pay a lot of attention to the way I feel. (Attention)

     

9

My feelings are clear to me. (Clarity)

     

10

I can usually define my feelings. (Clarity)

     

11

I nearly always know how I feel. (Clarity)

     

12

I usually know how I feel about people. (Clarity)

     

13

I often become aware of my feelings in different situations. (Clarity)

     

14

I can always say how I feel in different situations. (Clarity)

     

15

I can sometimes say which emotions I am experiencing. (Clarity)

     

16

I can manage to understand my feelings. (Clarity)

     

17

I usually have an optimistic outlook, although I sometimes feel sad. (Repair)

     

18

Even when I feel sad, I try to think about pleasant feelings. (Repair)

     

19

When I am sad, I think about all life’s pleasures. (Repair)

     

20

I try to have positive thoughts even when I feel bad. (Repair)

     

21

If I think about things too much and end up complicating them, I try to calm myself down. (Repair)

     

22

I am concerned about having a good state of mind. (Repair)

     

23

I have a lot of energy when I feel happy. (Repair)

     

24

When I am angry, I try to change my state of mind. (Repair)

     

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Townshend, K. (2023). Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS). In: Medvedev, O.N., Krägeloh, C.U., Siegert, R.J., Singh, N.N. (eds) Handbook of Assessment in Mindfulness Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77644-2_82-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77644-2_82-1

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