Bragging About Products Purchased

What it measures

A five-item scale measuring the tendency to purchase and publicly display products for the purpose of signalling social status and impressing others. Items capture status-signalling purchase motivation, preference for conspicuous products, the desire for others to recognise one's superior possessions, enjoyment of showcasing purchases, and active social broadcasting of buying behaviour. The scale operationalises conspicuous consumption and purchase bragging as a stable consumer trait.

Response format

7-point Likert

Scale items

• I often buy products that emphasize my social status.
• I tend to choose showy products.
• It is important to me that others realize that I have the best things.
• I like to show others what I buy.
• I often make sure that others know what I buy.

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

Usage notes & scoring

Single alpha: α = .93 (pilot study, n = 1,682 panel members) — Ruvio et al. (2020). VALIDITY: AVE = .66 (pilot study). Specific sources for items not identified — items appear developed by the authors drawing on conspicuous consumption and materialism literature. Companion to Brand Status (BRST, ID 2052) and Desire for Consensus (DSCO, ID 2070) in research on social signalling motivations.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Ruvio, Ayalla A., et al. (2020). Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 48(5), 1113–1134.

Keywords