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Are we assessing guilt correctly? An investigation of the psychometric properties of a prominent guilt measure

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Abstract

The construct of trait guilt has played an important role in psychological theory across many fields of psychology (e.g., as a diagnostic criterion in clinical psychology, as an individual difference in personality psychology, and as a motivational antecedent or emotional moderator in social and organizational psychology); however, the measurement of guilt has received comparatively limited attention in the literature. Specifically, existing measures have limited factor analytic support, limited evidence of convergent validity among the measures, and although the theoretical distinction between guilt and shame is well established, there is limited empirical support for the discriminant validity of these constructs as they are currently measured. The current study investigates the psychometric properties of the most commonly used measure of guilt, the Test of Self-Conscious Affect-3 (TOSCA-3; in: Tangney, The Test of Self Conscious Affect-3. George Mason University, Fairfax, 2000), in order to (a) examine the factor structure of the measure, (b) estimate the convergent validity of the measure with other guilt assessment instruments, and (c) examine the discriminant validity of guilt and shame. Results involving a sample of 1760 participants provide support for a multitrait-multimethod model and the discriminant validity of guilt and shame. However, limited evidence of convergent validity between the TOSCA-3 and the Revised Mosher Guilt Inventory (φ = .21) and the Trauma-Related Guilt Inventory (φ = .10) suggested the TOSCA-3 is not assessing guilt in the same manner as more contextualized measures of guilt, highlighting the importance of measurement choice for guilt researchers. Implications for the measurement of trait guilt are discussed.

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  1. Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado Boulder, 995 Regent Drive, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA

    Christina N. Lacerenza

  2. College of Business, University of Central Florida, 4000 Central Florida Blvd., Orlando, FL, 32816, USA

    Dana L. Joseph

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Central Florida, 4000 Central Florida Blvd., Orlando, FL, 32816, USA

    Jeffrey E. Cassisi

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  1. Christina N. Lacerenza
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  2. Dana L. Joseph
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Correspondence to Christina N. Lacerenza.

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Lacerenza, C.N., Joseph, D.L. & Cassisi, J.E. Are we assessing guilt correctly? An investigation of the psychometric properties of a prominent guilt measure. Motiv Emot 44, 567–582 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-019-09810-9

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