The Dysphorimeter: An Objective Analogue for the Assessment of Depression, Anxiety, Pain, and Other Dysphoric States

This paper describes a newly invented apparatus, the Dysphorimeter. By manipulating a selector-slide, the patient can indicate the levels of depression or anxiety. The Dysphorimeter emits increasingly noxious sounds when moved downward on a scale of 1 to 10. The patient is asked to match the discomfort created by the sound to that of his depression or anxiety. In contrast to current means of measurements, the Dysphorimeter is not dependent on verbal response and factual reporting, and it is responsive to sudden mood changes. With schizophrenics and normal controls, the Dysphorimeter was found to show reliability and validity and better discriminative ability than methods currently in use.