Search

Snyder’s Self-Monitoring Scale: short version, reliability, validity, factor structure. Education & Pedagogy Journal. 2024;1(9):62-74. DOI:

The widespread use of smartphones and social networks has profoundly affected the quality of communication and led to changes in its characteristics, including those measured by the Self-Monitoring Scale. Examining these changes is crucial, especially in the context of the evolving landscape of digital communication. Although the Self-Monitoring Scale was introduced 40 years ago by M. Snyder, it remains a staple of research, demonstrating its enduring applicability. However, there is a growing consensus in the psychological community, both domestically and internationally, that the established methods need to be updated. The reason for this is the potential discrepancy between the responses of today’s respondents and those of people from decades past for whom these scales were developed initially. The changing communication context requires re-evaluating these tools to ensure that they remain relevant and reflect current societal dynamics. The aim of the study to reduce the number of questions in the Scale is also important, as large questionnaires cause difficulties in collecting material and (as relevant offline and online studies have shown) lead to poorer quality responses. Aims of the research: 1) Development of a reliable and valid short version of the Self-Monitoring Scale by M. Snyder; 2) Construction of meaningful models for the Self-Monitoring Scale. The empirical basis of the study was the results of online tests with 1911 respondents from Belarus and Russia, including 1206 women and 605 men. The study was based on the classic test by M. Snyder Self-Monitoring Scale, questionnaires on smartphone addiction (author – V.P. Sheinov), addiction to social networks (authors – V.P. Sheinov, A.S. Dziavitsyn) and the Academic Motivation Scale questionnaire by Vallerand (adapted to the Russian-speaking society by T.O. Gordeeva, O.A. Sychev and E.N. Osin) was also used. Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS-22 package and the R-based Jamovi version 2.3.21. As a result of this study, a valid and reliable short version of the Self-Monitoring Scale questionnaire was created, consisting of 8 questions on self-monitoring, with better psychometric properties than the original version created by M. Snyder. A rich two-factor model of the Self-Monitoring Scale was developed. The short Self-Monitoring Scale allows you to collect larger samples with better-quality responses.

Keywords: Self-Monitoring Scale, M. Snyder, short version of the Self-Monitoring Scale, reliability, validity, factor structure, psychometric properties, smartphone addiction, social media addiction, academic motivation scales