The Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS) is the gold standard for measuringanhedonia, the inability to feel pleasure.
The SHAPS test measures your ability to experience pleasure or the severity of youranhedoniabased on what is calledhedonictone.
Someone with a high SHAPS score would also have low hedonic tone, or reduced ability to feel pleasure.
Luis Alvarez / Getty Images
Luis Alvarez / Getty Images
What Is the SHAPS Used For?
“Hedonic” means “relating to or characterized by pleasure or pleasant sensations.”
Hedonic tone is also referred to as hedonic capacity or hedonic responsiveness.
High hedonic tone suggests that someone has a robust capacity to feel pleasure.
Anhedonia is a hallmark of clinical depression.
What Is Anhedonia?
SHAPS scores range from 0 to 14.
However, if someone agreed or strongly agreed with every statement, their score would be 0.
Lower SHAPS scores indicate higher levels of hedonic capacity or a lower level of anhedonia, and vice versa.
Interpreting Results
The cutoff point between normal hedonic tone and anhedonia is between 2 and 3 points.
A score of 14 would represent extremely low hedonic tone and severe anhedonia.
Accuracy
SHAPS is considered an accurate and reliable instrument for assessing hedonic capacity and anhedonia.
On the flip side, higher SHAPS scores indicate a reduced ability to experience pleasure and low hedonic tone.
Low hedonic tone reflects a reduced capacity to feel pleasure, which often goes hand in hand withanhedonia.
On the flip side, high hedonic tone means that someone has a robust capacity for experiencing pleasure.
Anhedonia is the inability or lessened ability to experience pleasure.
Anhedonia can be assessed as part of a mental health evaluation or objectively measured.
Using questionnaires like the Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS) that assess someone’s ability to feel pleasure.
The 14-item SHAPS test is easy to administer and is considered the gold standard for measuring anhedonia.
SHAPS is a 14-item questionnaire that measures someone’s capacity to experience pleasure.
or 0 points if they agree.
Final scores range from 0-14.
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