Attitude Toward the Smartphone (Stress Coping)

What it measures

A four-item scale measuring the tendency to turn to one's smartphone as a mechanism for coping with daily stress, anxiety, and social discomfort. Items capture habitual smartphone use in moments of stress, the device's role as a self-comfort tool, and its use as an escape from uncomfortable social situations. This subscale operationalises the pacifier function of the smartphone — using it as an emotion regulation device — which is the central theoretical construct in the Melumad & Pham (2020) research programme.

Response format

7-point Likert

Scale items

• Using my phone helps me escape from my daily pressures.
• I often turn to my smartphone in a moment of stress/anxiety.
• If I am in an uncomfortable social situation, I turn to my phone.
• I use my phone as a way of comforting myself when I feel stressed.

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

Usage notes & scoring

Single alpha: α = .91 — Melumad & Pham (2020, Study 1). VALIDITY: Not formally addressed. Scale created by Melumad (2021, personal correspondence). This subscale represents the core theoretical construct of the pacifier function of the smartphone. Part of a six-scale battery alongside Haptic Pleasure (SMHP), Privacy (SMPR), Portability (SMPT), Security Comfort (SMSC), and Private Space (SMPS).

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Melumad, Shiri and Michel Tuan Pham (2020). The smartphone as a pacifier: A psychological and physiological investigation of its effects on stressed consumers. Journal of Marketing Research, 57(2), 236–256.

Keywords