Anticipated Spousal Disapproval

What it measures

A three-item scale measuring the degree to which a person anticipates that their spouse would express disapproval, criticism, or a negative reaction to a specific financial choice if they were aware of it. Items capture anticipated disapproval, expected criticism, and predicted spousal reaction. Developed for research on financial infidelity and concealed purchases in romantic partnerships, the scale is suited to any context where anticipated partner disapproval influences financial decision-making.

Response format

7-point (not at all / very much; very favorably / very unfavorably)

Scale items

• To what extent do you think your spouse would disapprove of your choice in this situation? (not at all / very much)
• To what extent do you expect your spouse to criticize you for your choice in this situation? (not at all / very much)
• How do you expect your spouse to react to your choice in this situation? (very favorably / very unfavorably)

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

Usage notes & scoring

Single alpha: α = .90 — Garbinsky et al. (2020, Study 5, n = 133, married participants). VALIDITY: Not discussed. NOTE: Scale phrasing uses 'spouse' — for research contexts involving non-married partners, 'spouse' could be replaced with 'partner' or 'significant other' with appropriate revalidation. Item 3 uses a bipolar response format (very favorably / very unfavorably) while items 1 and 2 are unipolar (not at all / very much) — researchers should ensure consistent scoring direction with item 3 reverse-coded relative to the others. Published in web appendix of the original article.

Citation

Garbinsky, Emily N., Joe J. Gladstone, Hristina Nikolova, and Jenny G. Olson (2020). Love, lies, and money: Financial infidelity in romantic relationships. Journal of Consumer Research, 47(1), 1–24.

Keywords