Purchase Activism Scale

What it measures

Measures the extent to which a consumer's decision to purchase a specific brand was driven by personal values, moral beliefs, and the desire to make a political or social statement through their consumption choice. The scale captures the degree to which a purchase functions as an act of consumer activism rather than being motivated by purely functional or hedonic considerations.

Scale items

• This purchase supported what I believe in.
• This purchase helped make a difference in the world.
• This purchase was driven by my moral beliefs.
• This purchase embodies the ideals that I live by.
• This purchase helped me make a political statement.

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

Usage notes & scoring

Used by Paharia, Avery & Keinan (2014) in Study 4 (n = 201 MTurk participants) as a measure of purchase motivation. The scale was developed and validated in a series of studies reported in a web appendix, including EFA, CFA, reliability assessment, and convergent and discriminant validity tests. Cronbach's alphas were consistently above .90 in development studies; AVEs were acceptable (specific values not reported in the main article). Alpha = .95 in Study 4. Instructions are required to direct respondents to focus their ratings on a particular purchase they made or simulated in a role-playing scenario; the scale is not suitable as a standalone measure without such a referent.

Citation

Paharia, N., Avery, J., & Keinan, A. (2014). Positioning brands against large competitors to increase sales. Journal of Marketing Research, 51(6), 647-656.

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