Agency (Personal)

What it measures

A three-item scale measuring the degree to which a specific stimulus — such as a brand interaction or product — makes a consumer feel that they personally determine, are responsible for, and have control over their outcomes. Items contain a blank to be filled with the focal stimulus, enabling the scale to capture how particular brand or product encounters affect the subjective sense of personal agency. Companion to the External Agency scale, together capturing the internal-external locus of control distinction in a consumer context.

Response format

7-point Likert (strongly disagree / strongly agree)

Scale items

• _____ makes me feel like I determine my outcomes.
• _____ makes me feel like I have more responsibility for my outcomes.
• _____ makes me feel like my outcomes are more under my control.

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

Usage notes & scoring

FILL-IN-THE-BLANK FORMAT: Blanks should be replaced with the focal brand, product, or interaction being assessed (e.g., 'Using [brand]', 'This product'). Single alpha: α = .95 — Beck, Rahinel & Bleier (2020, Study 4, n = 371 MTurk). VALIDITY: Not reported. Companion to Agency (External) scale (AGEX) from the same study — both should be administered when the full locus of control framework is being tested.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Beck, Joshua T., Ryan Rahinel, and Alexander Bleier (2020). Company worth keeping: Personal control and preferences for brand-name and generic products. Journal of Marketing Research, 57(5), 874–891.

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