Decision Comfort

What it measures

Assesses the degree of emotional ease and well-being a person experiences in relation to a choice they have made or are contemplating. Two versions exist: a comparative form (evaluating option X relative to option Y) and a non-comparative form (evaluating a single option). The non-comparative version is recommended as more sensitive. One item is reverse-scored.

Response format

11-point bipolar Likert (-5 to +5, strongly disagree / strongly agree); also used as 5-point (1–5)

Scale items

• I am comfortable with choosing X [over Y].
• I feel good about choosing X [over Y].
• I am experiencing negative emotions about choosing X [over Y]. (r)
• Whether or not it is 'the best choice,' I am okay with choosing X [over Y].
• Although I don't know if X is the best [is superior to Y], I feel perfectly comfortable with the choice I made.

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

Usage notes & scoring

Developed and validated across 11 studies by Parker et al. (2016) using Amazon MTurk samples. Non-comparative version: alphas .92–.94; AVEs .69–.77. Comparative version: alphas .89–.91; AVEs .62–.67. Non-comparative version recommended for greater sensitivity. Bracketed phrases in items are for the comparative version only. Adopted by Hilken et al. (2017) in augmented reality research (alpha = .89, 5-point scale). Item 3 is reverse-scored.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Parker, J.R., Lehmann, D.R., & Xie, Y. (2016). Decision comfort. Journal of Consumer Research, 43(1), 113–133.

Keywords