A foundational money psychology instrument operationalising the multi-dimensional symbolic and motivational meanings of money in consumer life. The MAS is among the most replicated measures in consumer financial psychology, with applications spanning personal financial planning, compulsive buying, consumer debt, price sensitivity, and negotiation behaviour. The Power–Prestige dimension captures the use of money as a vehicle for social influence, status signalling, and public impression management — it correlates with materialism, luxury consumption, and status-seeking purchase behaviour. Retention–Time reflects prudent financial planning and future-oriented resource management, correlating with savings rates, financial literacy behaviour, and resistance to impulse buying. Distrust captures vigilance and scepticism in price evaluation and interpersonal financial dealings — it is associated with price-quality reasoning, deal-seeking, and resistance to upselling. Anxiety reflects the affective burden of money — compulsive checking, worry about financial adequacy, and money-related obsessional thinking — correlating with financial stress, compulsive buying, and hoarding. The Quality subscale is the shortest (2 items) and assesses use of price as a quality signal, relevant for premium product marketing and price-tier decision-making. The MAS remains the standard reference instrument for multi-dimensional money attitude research and is frequently paired with the Spendthrift–Tightwad Scale and Consumer Attitudes to Debt.
Yamauchi, K.T., & Templer, D.I. (1982). The development of a money attitude scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 46(5), 522–528.
Free access to 2023+ psychometric scales at PsychScales