Scoring the BMIS
Please Note: Additional and more detailed information regadring scoring the BMIS can be found in this technical supplement to this page (PDF). Also, I recommend checking the exact adjectives for each scale against the original article to guard against errors. Those can be found in Mayer & Gaschke, 1988, p. 104, second column. Please e-mail me to report any problems.
Recommended Scoring: Two Examples
Scoring the BMIS for Pleasant-Unpleasant Mood
Before you start, it is helpful to download a copy of the BMIS in PDF or WORD format (see the earlier links on this page). Now, referring to the copy, to score Pleasant-Unpleasant, first:
1. Convert the Meddis response scale (XX, X, V, VV) to numbers:
-
XX = 1
-
X = 2
-
V = 3
-
VV = 4
2. Next, add up the responses for: Active, Calm, Caring, Content, Happy, Lively, Loving, and Peppy.
3.. Next, reverse score the responses for: Drowsy, Fed up, Gloomy, Grouchy, Jittery, Nervous, Sad, and Tired. That is, recode, such that:
-
XX = 4
-
X =3
-
V = 2
-
VV = 1
4. Now, add up the scores for the reverse scored items. That is, Drowsy, Fed up, Gloomy, Grouchy, Jittery, Nervous, Sad, and Tired.
5. Finally, add up the regular and reverse-scored items. That is the total on the Pleasant-Unpleasant scale.
Scoring the BMIS for Arousal-Calm Mood
As before, it is helpful to download a copy of the BMIS in PDF or WORD format (see the first link in this section). Now, referring to the copy, to score Arousal-Calm, first:
1. Convert the Meddis response scale to numbers this way:
-
XX = 1
-
X = 2
-
V = 3
- VV = 4
2. Next, add up the responses for: Active, Caring, Fed up, Gloomy, Jittery, Lively, Loving, Nervous, Peppy, and Sad.
3. Next, reverse score the responses for: Calm and Tired. That is, recode, such that:
-
XX = 4
-
X =3
-
V = 2
-
VV = 1
4. Now, add up the scores for the reverse scored items Calm and Tired.
5. Finally, add up the regular and reverse-scored items. That is the total on the Pleasant-Unpleasant scale.
A Note on Subtractive Scoring
In the original articles on the BMIS, reverse-scored items were never reverse scored, but instead were simply subtracted from regular items. That is, to calculate the Pleasant-Unpleasant dimension, for example, all the scores for the pleasant mood words were added; all the negative mood words were added, and the total score was obtained by subtracting the unpleasant total from the pleasant total. We now regard reverse scoring as the superior method for calculating BMIS scores. For more information see technical supplement to this page (PDF)