Absorption Disposition

What it measures

A seven-item trait measure capturing individual differences in the tendency to become absorbed in sensory and imaginative experiences. Items tap into receptivity to aesthetic, natural, and multisensory stimuli, reflecting the degree to which a person's attention and affect become engaged by vivid mental imagery. Derived from the broader Tellegen Absorption Scale, this subset targets the responsive-to-engaging-stimuli dimension and has been applied in advertising contexts to examine how dispositional absorption moderates affective and evaluative responses.

Response format

7-point Likert

Scale items

• I can be greatly moved by eloquent or poetic language.
• I like to watch cloud shapes change in the sky.
• I think that I really know what some people mean when they talk about mystical experiences.
• The crackle and flames of a wood fire stimulate my imagination.
• I often take delight in small things.
• When listening to organ music or other powerful music, I sometimes feel as if I am being lifted into the air.
• I can be deeply moved by a sunset.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

SUBSET SCALE: Seven items represent one sub-factor ('responsive to engaging stimuli') of the full 34-item, six-factor Tellegen Absorption Scale; the complete instrument is not reproduced here. Two reliability estimates are available from independent samples: α = .90 (n = 80) and α = .86 (n = 255). No validity evidence was reported in the focal application. Items were originally administered in Chinese following back-translation from English; the English-language versions are provided above. Researchers using this scale in Western English-speaking samples should note the original validation context.

Citation

Chang, Chingching (2011). The influence of editorial liking and editorial-induced affect on evaluations of subsequent ads. Journal of Advertising, 40(3), 45–58. [Original scale: Tellegen, Auke (1992). Note on structure and naming of the MPQ Absorption Scale. Unpublished manuscript, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.]

Keywords