Problem
Stacey is seeing a private counselor for the first time. Before Stacey's session begins, the counselor asks her to fill out some paperwork. As she goes through the requested paperwork, she comes to a form that causes her to stop and think. This form has several written statements asking her how she feels at different times of the day and during different types of events. For each statement, she is to rate how she feels during the specified time or event, with the scale ranging from 0, no depression, to 10, the most depressed she has ever felt. Stacey answers each question the best she can but is not sure about some of them. She then comes to another form asking similar questions, though the questions are mainly focused on feelings of anxiety. Stacey goes through the questions and again is not confident about many of her answers. After Stacey is done with her paperwork, she enters the counseling session to speak with the counselor
a) How subjective are numerical scales like the ones Stacey is asked to answer?
b) How might the counselor address Stacey's concerns about not knowing how to respond to some of the questions?
c) What are some benefits to using an informal scale such as the one Stacey completed? Are there any downsides to these types of scales?