Hyperopia Scale

Name: Hyperopia Scale
Published: 2008
License: https://psychometricscales.com/methodology.html

HYPAn overall aversion to indulgence or luxury — a tendency to forgo pleasurable or hedonic options in favour of virtuous or prudent alternatives. Hyperopic consumers have difficulty allowing themselves to enjoy life's pleasures and experience retrospective regret about missed opportunities. Conceptually distinct from self-control, frugality, and tightwad tendencies.

6 items 2008 α 0.86–0.90 Free Haws, K.L. & Poynor, C.

What it measures

Captures the tendency for consumers to be excessively future-oriented and self-denying — leading to under-indulgence and subsequent regret. Unlike self-control (which prevents harmful behaviour), hyperopia prevents even guilt-free pleasures. Validated as distinct from self-control, frugality, materialism, tightwad propensity, conscientiousness, and impulsive buying. Test-retest reliability: r=0.80 over 2 weeks. No gender or age effects.

Response format

7-point Likert (1=strongly disagree to 7=strongly agree); items averaged; no reverse coding; higher scores = greater hyperopia

Scale items

I often fail to enjoy attractive opportunities.
It's hard for me to make myself indulge.
I regret missed opportunities to enjoy rich experiences in the past.
I have difficulty pampering myself.
'Seizing the day' is difficult for me.
I rarely enjoy the luxuries life has to offer.

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

Usage notes & scoring

All 6 items positively worded — no reverse coding. No mean scores reported; no significant gender or age effects. High hyperopia predicts under-indulgence and retrospective regret about missed pleasures.

Recommended companion scales

Consumer Spending Self-Control ScaleGeneral Self-Control ScaleFrugality Scale

Citation

Haws, K.L., & Poynor, C. (2008). Seize the day! Encouraging indulgence for the hyperopic consumer. Journal of Consumer Research, 35(4), 680–691.

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Keywords

#hyperopia#indulgence#self-control#luxury#hedonic#aversion#regret#under-consumption#frugality#consumerwellbeing

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