Arousal-Seeking Tendency

What it measures

A multiple-item Likert-type scale designed to measure the level of stimulation and arousal a person prefers.

Response format

7-point Likert scale

Scale items

• Designs or patterns should be bold and exciting.
• I feel best when I am safe and secure.(r)
• I would like the job of a foreign correspondent for a newspaper.
• I don’t pay much attention to my surroundings.(r)
• I don’t like the feeling of wind in my hair.(r)
• I prefer an unpredictable life that is full of change to a more routine one.
• I wouldn’t like to try the new group-therapy techniques involving strange body sensations.(r)
• Sometimes I really stir up excitement.
• I never notice textures.(r)
• I like surprises.
• The Arousal- Seeking Tendency scale is copyrighted by Dr. Albert Mehrabian. The ten items here were used with permission. The additional items can be obtained by

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

Usage notes & scoring

Reported alpha coefficients range from .76 to .89 across samples or studies. Factor analytic procedures were used to support the scale's structural validity.

Citation

Dawson, Scott, Peter H. Bloch, and Nancy M. Ridgway (1990), “Shopping Motives, Emotional States, and Retail Outcomes,” Journal of Retailing, 66 (Winter), 408-27.

Keywords