Material Values Scale — Short Forms

What it measures

Provides four validated short forms of the Richins & Dawson (1992) MVS, derived across 15 samples (n=110–639; total n=4,736) and cross-validated in n=402. Average alpha: 15-item 0.86, 9-item 0.82, 6-item 0.75, 3-item 0.63. Richins (2004) cautions against using the 3-item version. Nomological validity correlations with Belk's materialism scales, personal values, possession value sources, and windfall expenditures are highly similar across all short-form versions. The 9-item version (alpha=0.84 in cross-validation) is recommended as the optimal balance of brevity and psychometric quality. Note: the short-form items use a standard 1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree direction — opposite to the full 18-item MVS.

Response format

5-point Likert (1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree); items summed within dimensions and overall. Items marked * require reverse scoring.

Scale items

Success — using possessions as indicators of achievement. Likert 1–5 (strongly disagree to strongly agree). Numbers indicate which short-form versions include each item.

• I admire people who own expensive homes, cars, and clothes. (15, 9, 6, 3)
• Some of the most important achievements in life include acquiring material possessions. (15)
• I don't place much emphasis on the amount of material objects people own as a sign of success. * (15)
• The things I own say a lot about how well I'm doing in life. (15, 9, 6)
• I like to own things that impress people. (15, 9)

Acquisition Centrality — placing acquisition at the centre of life. Likert 1–5. Items marked * require reverse scoring.

• I usually buy only the things I need. *
• I try to keep my life simple, as far as possessions are concerned. * (15, 9)
• The things I own aren't all that important to me. * (15)
• I enjoy spending money on things that aren't practical.
• Buying things gives me a lot of pleasure. (15, 9, 6)

Happiness — belief that possessions are essential to wellbeing. Likert 1–5. Items marked * require reverse scoring.

• I have all the things I really need to enjoy life. * (15)
• My life would be better if I owned certain things I don't have. (15, 9, 6)
• I wouldn't be any happier if I owned nicer things. * (15)
• I'd be happier if I could afford to buy more things. (15, 9, 6, 3)
• It sometimes bothers me quite a bit that I can't afford to buy all the things I'd like. (15, 9)

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

Usage notes & scoring

The short forms use a STANDARD Likert direction (1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree) — opposite to the full 18-item MVS which uses 1=strongly agree to 5=strongly disagree. Items marked (*) require reverse scoring. Numbers in parentheses after each item indicate which short-form versions include that item (15, 9, 6, or 3). The 9-item version is recommended. Mean scores across 15 samples: 15-item M=2.86 (SD=1.11), 9-item M=2.91 (SD=1.14), 6-item M=3.00 (SD=1.16), 3-item M=2.86 (SD=1.19).

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Richins, M.L. (2004). The Material Values Scale: Measurement properties and development of a short form. Journal of Consumer Research, 31(1), 209–219.

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