Assesses observer ratings of another person's competence, ambition, and drive for upward mobility — the core attributes associated with human capital in economics and organisational behaviour. Originally developed for studies on busyness as a status signal, where raters judged target individuals described in vignettes. AVE ranged from .72 to .84 across studies, with strong discriminant validity established relative to related constructs. Although validated for other-rated human capital, self-rated use is plausible but would require further psychometric confirmation.
7-point Likert
Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.
Designed for other-rating contexts (one person evaluating another). Self-report adaptation is theoretically plausible but untested. Insert the target person's name or pronoun in the blank.
Bellezza, S., Paharia, N., & Keinan, A. (2017). Conspicuous consumption of time: When busyness and lack of leisure time become a status symbol. Journal of Consumer Research, 44(1), 118–138.
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