Emotional Intolerance

What it measures

A three-item scale measuring a consumer's dispositional intolerance of negative emotional states — the tendency to feel extremely uncomfortable when experiencing negative feelings and to find such states difficult to endure. Items tap the subjective unpleasantness of negative emotion, discomfort when feeling bad, and the aversiveness of sitting with negative feelings. Applied in research on smartphone use as a stress-coping mechanism, the scale identifies consumers most likely to seek emotional relief through product or media engagement.

Representative items

• I feel very uncomfortable when I experience negative emotions.
• When I feel bad, I can't stand it.
• Having negative feelings is extremely unpleasant for me.

Citation

Mick, David Glen and Susan Fournier (1998). Paradoxes of technology: Consumer cognizance, emotions, and coping strategies. Journal of Consumer Research, 25(2), 123–143. [Applied by: Melumad, Shiri and Michel Tuan Pham (2020). The smartphone as a pacifier. Journal of Marketing Research, 57(2), 236–256.]