Three items measuring the extent to which a consumer believes a particular object carries an intangible essence, aura, or essential identity beyond its physical properties. Smith, Newman, and Dhar (2016) developed the scale to capture the psychological mechanism of temporal contagion — the idea that objects produced earlier in a series embody more of the creator's essence, driving preferences for lower serial numbers. The scale draws on prior work by Newman and colleagues on authenticity and celebrity contagion.
Smith, R.K., Newman, G.E., & Dhar, R. (2016). Closer to the creator: Temporal contagion explains the preference for earlier serial numbers. Journal of Consumer Research, 42(5), 653–668.
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