Motivation to Search for Donatable Possessions

What it measures

Measures how motivated a person is to go through their belongings to identify unused items that could be donated. Developed for use following a donation appeal, capturing the likelihood of actively searching for and gathering donatable goods. One item is reverse-scored. Created by the authors for a supplementary study (n=81 female MTurk participants) examining how memory preservation affects willingness to part with possessions. Contextually suited to charitable giving research and product disposition studies.

Response format

7-point scale (1=very unlikely, 7=very likely)

Scale items

• I am likely to search through my belongings for items I could donate.
• I am motivated to see what items I no longer use that I could donate.
• I do not want to gather items to donate. (r)

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

Usage notes & scoring

Item 3 is reverse-scored (r). Scale was used in a web appendix supplementary study, not the main article studies. Likely 7-point likelihood scale based on parallel scales in the same paper. Best used in contexts where respondents have been primed to consider donating.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Winterich, K.P., Reczek, R.W., & Irwin, J.R. (2017). Keeping the memory but not the possession: Memory preservation mitigates identity loss from product disposition. Journal of Marketing, 81(5), 104–120.

Keywords