Introduction
We all know what an attention seeker is. Some types of attention seeking can be associated with mental problems knowns as Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD). This disorder affects around 3% of the population. One of the traits involved is commonly known as attention seeking.
The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (10th Revision) lists the following symptoms:
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shallow and labile affectivity
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self-dramatization
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theatricality
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exaggerated expression of emotions
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suggestibility
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egocentricity
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self-indulgence
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lack of consideration for others
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easily hurt feelings
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continuous seeking for appreciation, excitement and attention
| Good video about histrionic personality disorder on YouTube. |
| Histrionic Personality Disorder is one of multiple personality disorders. This is a nice video explaining all of them. |
The BHPS is the only free histrionic personality traits scale I am aware of.
| Christopher Ferguson is a well known psychologist and author, check his cool web page here. |
The 11-item scale (each item with a score from 1 to 4) runs from 11 to 44.
The BHPS was psychometrically validated with a student sample. The average score was 25.5 points (standard deviation 4.6 points).
| BHPS Score | Interpretation |
|---|---|
11 to 29 points |
No noticeable histrionic features |
30 to 34 points |
Noticeable histrionic personality features but not necessarily at a clinical level |
35 to 44 points |
Clinically significant histrionic personality features |
Run the demo
Legal stuff
The BHPS be used for research, but you need to acknowledge the authors and their research paper when writing about it (References).
Technically
This is a simple scale question without reverse coded items (although in the longer scale used for validation included reverse coded items).
The survey code for PsyToolkit
scale: frequency
- never true
- seldom true
- very often true
- always true
l: bhps
t: scale frequency
o: random
o: width 40%
q: Please answer the following questions using the scale:
- I find it exciting to flirt with others
- I like to be the center of attention
- I always seem to have new friends
- I’d prefer not to commit to just one romantic partner
- I flirt even with people who I’m not attracted to
- I tend to be the "life of the party"
- A lot of people find me sexually appealing
- I know how to make people like me right away
- I get frustrated when people don’t notice me
- I’m very interested in material things like cars, shoes, etc.
- I like it when I know someone desires me sexually
l: bhps_score
t: set
- sum $bhps
l: feedback
t: info
q: Scores on the Brief Histrionic Personality Scale range between 11 and 44.<br><br>
<b>Your score on the Brief Histrionic Personality Scale is {$bhps_score}.</b><br><br>
A score between 30 and 34 points suggests that you have noticeable histrionic personality features but not necessarily at a clinical level.<br><br>
A score of 35 points and higher suggests that you have clinically significant histrionic personality features.<br><br>
<b>Please note that this is not a clinical diagnosis, and that if you have concerns, you need to see a medically trained specialist.</b>
References
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Ferguson & Negy (2014). Development of a brief screening questionnaire for histrionic personality symptoms. Personality & Individual Differences, 66, 124-127.