Development of the Engagement with Beauty Scale-Revised, Japanese Version (EBS-R-J), and Confirmation of its Validity and Reliability1

Appreciation of beauty is an ability to find, recognize, and emotionally respond to beauty. It is often considered to be associated with several psychological fields, such as forms of the good life, love, transcendence, and exploration. The Engagement with Beauty Scale-Revised (EBS-R) is one of the most comprehensive scales for measuring the beauty appreciation trait. In this study, we have developed the Japanese version of this scale (EBS-R-J) and confirmed its reliability and validity through two surveys conducted in Japan. Specifically, this study has not only validated the original four-factor structure of the EBS-R-J, but also revealed an alternative five-factor model. Both models had satisfactory internal consistency estimates for the total score and subscales, had verified concurrent validity through examining correlations with the Aesthetic Emotions Scale (AESTHEMOS), had verified known-groups validity by comparing the scores of the EBS-R-J between groups of art-experienced and art-inexperienced individuals, and confirmed the temporal reliability of the EBS-R-J by means of correlation coefficients for a 4-week interval for the total score and each subscale score. In conclusion, the EBS-R-J developed in this study has relatively satisfactory reliability and validity, indicating that it represents a valid measure of the trait of beauty appreciation in the Japanese language.