Alienation (Consumer)

What it measures

A multiple-item likert scale designed to measure the degree to which a consumer has negative beliefs about and is alienated from business in general.

Response format

7-point Likert scale

Scale items

• Shopping is usually an unpleasant experience.
• Consumers are unable to determine what products will be sold in the stores.
• In general, companies are plain dishonest in their dealings with the consumer.
• Business firms stand behind their products and guarantees. (r)
• The consumer is usually the least important consideration to most companies.
• As soon as they make a sale, most businesses forget about the buyer.
• Most companies care nothing at all about the consumer.
• In general, people must be willing to tolerate poor service from most businesses.
• In general, businesses who offer product and service guarantees will honor them. (r)

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

Usage notes & scoring

Reported alpha coefficients range from .80 to .92 across samples or studies. Factor analytic procedures were used to support the scale's structural validity.

Citation

Allison, Neil K. (1978), “A Psychometric Development of a Test for Consumer Alienation from the Marketplace,” Journal of Marketing Research, 15 (November), 565–575.

Keywords