Decision Readiness

What it measures

A three-item scale measuring a consumer's subjective sense of preparedness and readiness to make a preference decision. Items assess feeling prepared to choose, being in the right mindset for decision making, and the felt rightness of making a decision. The scale captures the motivational and affective readiness dimension of the decision experience, distinct from cognitive elaboration depth. High decision readiness reflects a sense of confident alignment between the consumer and the decision context.

Response format

7-point Likert

Scale items

• I felt prepared to make a choice.
• I felt like I was in the mode to make a decision.
• The thought of making a decision felt right to me.

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

Usage notes & scoring

Two reliability estimates: α = .84 (Experiment 1, n = 225) and α = .82 (Experiment 3, n = 117) — Rahinel et al. (2021). VALIDITY: Factor analysis of both decision readiness and decision elaboration items confirmed two distinct factors in both experiments. Scale appears original to the authors. Companion to Decision Elaboration (DCEL, ID 2063) — the two scales were co-developed to capture readiness and elaboration as distinct aspects of the decision experience. Both should be administered together when the full decision experience profile is of interest.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Rahinel, Ryan, Ashley S. Otto, Daniel M. Grossman, and Joshua J. Clarkson (2021). Exposure to brands makes preferential decisions easier. Journal of Consumer Research, 48(4), 541–561.

Keywords