Consumer Spending Autonomy

What it measures

A three-item scale assessing the extent to which respondents believe a given person is entitled to make their own spending choices freely. Originally labelled a 'deservingness index' by Olson et al. (2016), the scale asks respondents to evaluate a third party's right to spend their money as they see fit, though the authors note the items can be adapted for self-referential or relational contexts.

Response format

7-point Likert (1=strongly disagree, 7=strongly agree)

Scale items

• _____ deserves to spend his/her money as he/she chooses.
• _____ has the right to make his/her own spending choices.
• How _____ spends his/her money is up to him/her.

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

Usage notes & scoring

Used by Olson et al. (2016) in Experiment 3 with adult MTurk participants. The blank should be filled with a name or pronoun referring to the person being assessed. Can be adapted for self-report (e.g., 'I deserve to spend my money as I choose') or for evaluating a spouse, child, or friend. Alpha was .92.

Citation

Olson, J. G., McFerran, B., Morales, A. C., & Dahl, D. W. (2016). Wealth and welfare: Divergent moral reactions to ethical consumer choices. Journal of Consumer Research, 42(6), 879–896.

Keywords