Desire for Rewards

What it measures

Ten items measure the strength of a person's current urge and desire for something rewarding. Wiggin, Reimann, and Jain (2019) adapted the scale from the Questionnaire of Smoking Urges by Tiffany and Drobes (1991), selecting 10 items to measure a generalised desire for rewards. The basis for item selection was not stated.

Response format

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

Scale items

• I have a desire for something rewarding right now.
• Nothing would be better than something rewarding right now.
• If it were possible, I would probably get something rewarding now.
• All I want right now is something rewarding.
• I have an urge for something rewarding.
• Something rewarding would be good now.
• I would do almost anything in order to get something rewarding now.
• Getting something rewarding would make me happy.
• I would like to get something rewarding as soon as possible.
• I could control things better right now if I could get something rewarding.

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

Usage notes & scoring

The scale was adapted from a smoking-craving measure; researchers should consider whether items retain appropriate face validity for non-substance reward contexts. Alphas were stated for 3 of the 4 studies (.90–.95). Validity was not discussed.

Citation

Wiggin, K. L., Reimann, M., & Jain, S. P. (2019). Curiosity tempts indulgence. Journal of Consumer Research, 45(6), 1194–1212.

Keywords