Eudaimonic Symbolism of the Object

What it measures

This scale measures how much a person considers significant meaning from a story to have transferred to a particular object. The story could be a narrative in an ad and the object could be a product. Hamby, Tezer, and Escalas (2023) used it across four studies in the body of the article and an additional study in the web appendix.

Response format

7-point scale (anchors not stated; likely 1=not at all, 7=a great deal, consistent with similar scales used in the same studies)

Scale items

• To what extent do you view this _____ as standing for something meaningful?
• To what extent do you view this _____ as symbolizing something significant?
• To what extent do you view this _____ as representing an important meaning?

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

Usage notes & scoring

Alphas were very high, ranging from .93 to .98 (Hamby, Tezer, and Escalas 2023, p. 415; web appendix, p. 24). Validity was not discussed. The name of the focal object should be stated in the blank. This is a companion to another scale from the same paper, Eudaimonic Appreciation of the Story.

Citation

Hamby, Anne, Ali Tezer, and Jennifer Edson Escalas (2023), "Significant Objects: How Eudaimonic Narratives Enhance the Value of Featured Products," Journal of Advertising, 52 (3), 406-422.

Keywords