Anxiety (Service Usage)

What it measures

A four-item scale measuring the psychological discomfort and anxiety that arises from contemplating the use of a particular service. Items tap feelings of unease, unwanted anxiety, and unnecessary tension associated with service usage, capturing anticipatory distress rather than post-usage evaluation. Originally labelled psychological risk, the scale isolates the affective component of service risk perception — specifically how thinking about using a service generates negative emotional arousal.

Representative items

• The thought of using this service made me feel psychologically uncomfortable.
• I would worry a lot when buying this service.

Citation

Keh, Hean Tat and Jun Pang (2010). Customer reactions to service separation. Journal of Marketing, 74(2), 55–70.