Cognitive, Behavioral, and Affective Correlates of the Cook and Medley Hostility Scale

Abstract

The Cook and Medley Hostility (Ho) Scale is an increasingly important measure in studies examining health consequences of hostility. The two studies discussed herein provide further evidence of the construct validity of this measure. In Study 1, high Ho scores were associated with a greater level of aroused anger and disparaging appraisals of subjects' partners in a competitive reaction-time game as well as marginally more frequent antagonistic behavior. In Study 2, high Ho scores were associated with greater levels of angry and suspicious thoughts and feelings in response to hypothetical interpersonal conflicts and the tendency to attribute hostile intent to actors' displays of negative social behaviors. These findings are consistent with previous conceptual descriptions of the cognitive, behavioral, and affective correlates of hostility. The results are discussed in terms of interpretation of studies using the Ho scale and possible refinements of the measure.