Three items assess how different, unique, and norm-violating a consumer perceives the design of a product or object to be. The scale was developed to create contrasting design stimuli (norm-conforming vs. norm-diverging) in pretest work for a study on perceived coolness, and reflects the extent to which a design deviates from established conventions and signals autonomous choice. Researchers have used it with packaging designs (shape and colour), though the item wording is generic enough for broader design applications.
Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.
Created quickly for pretest purposes by Warren (2015, personal correspondence); no formal validation effort was conducted. Used primarily to confirm that two water bottle designs differed in perceived divergence from the norm, establishing experimental stimuli for the main study. Item 3 ('shows independence') introduces a connotation of intentional, autonomous departure from norms that goes beyond mere visual distinctiveness -- researchers should consider whether this is theoretically desirable for their application. The scale's lack of formal validation history means it should be treated as a practical pretest tool rather than a psychometrically mature construct measure. Alpha of .94 suggests high internal consistency for this three-item set in the packaging context. The authors caution against applying the scale to rate the uniqueness of people without pretesting.
Warren, C., & Campbell, M. C. (2014). What makes things cool? How autonomy influences perceived coolness. Journal of Consumer Research, 41(2), 543-563.
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