Attitude Toward the Pricing Strategy (Effort)

What it measures

A three-item scale measuring the degree to which a consumer perceives that a specific pricing strategy requires effortful deliberation to reach a purchase decision. Items capture how demanding, difficult, and comparatively effortful the pricing format makes the decision process, with one reverse-scored item framing the decision as easy. Items contain a blank for the focal product. Designed for use alongside the companion Pricing Strategy (Control) scale, this instrument separates the effort dimension of pricing reactions from the control dimension.

Response format

7-point Likert

Scale items

• The pricing strategy made me feel like the decision to purchase this _____ was an effortful one.
• The pricing strategy demanded effort for me to reach a purchase decision.
• Compared to other types of pricing, the pricing strategy for this product made it easy for me to reach a purchase decision. (r)

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 product. Alpha ranged from .76 to .89 across Studies 2–5 — Wang, Beck & Yuan (2022). The .76 lower bound falls below threshold in one study; the scale is included on the basis of the .89 upper estimate. VALIDITY: Discriminant validity tested against the companion Control scale (APSC). One item is reverse-scored ('Compared to other types of pricing, the pricing strategy for this product made it easy for me to reach a purchase decision'). Companion to APSC from the same study.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Wang, Cheng Lu, Joshua T. Beck, and Xin Yuan (2022). Prices as tools of control: How pricing strategy affects sense of control and consumer well-being. Journal of Marketing, 86(2), 143–160.

Keywords