Assesses the degree to which a consumer uses a particular product automatically and without conscious deliberation — the defining feature of habitual behaviour. Items were drawn from the Self-Report Habit Index (Verplanken & Orbell 2003) and selected by Gardner et al. (2012) as the four items most strongly representing automaticity. Used in research on habit slips, where consumers unintentionally revert to old products rather than adopting new ones. Four scale versions accommodate different usage frequency and product replacement scenarios; item phrasing shifts between past and present tense accordingly.
5-point Likert (1=strongly disagree, 5=strongly agree)
Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.
Response anchors: strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). Stem: 'Using _____ is something...' (for regularly used products — present tense) or 'If you ever used _____, was it something...?' (for rarely used products — past tense). Four scale versions exist for different frequency/replacement combinations. Four items identified from the 12-item SRHI by Gardner et al. (2012) as best representing automaticity.
Labrecque, J.S., Wood, W., Neal, D.T., & Harrington, N. (2017). Habit slips: When consumers unintentionally resist new products. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 45(1), 119–133.
Free access to 2455+ psychometric scales at PsychScales