Technology Acceptance Model Scales

What it measures

The foundational measure for the Technology Acceptance Model — one of the most influential theories in information systems and digital consumer behaviour. Perceived Usefulness captures the degree to which the system improves job performance; Perceived Ease of Use captures the degree to which the system is effortless. Together they predict technology adoption intentions.

Response format

Likert (1–7, extremely likely to extremely unlikely / very likely to very unlikely)

Scale items

Perceived Usefulness — degree to which a person believes using the system will enhance their job performance (Likert 1–7, extremely unlikely to extremely likely)

• Using [system] in my job would enable me to accomplish tasks more quickly.
• Using [system] would improve my job performance.
• Using [system] in my job would increase my productivity.
• Using [system] would enhance my effectiveness on the job.
• Using [system] would make it easier to do my job.
• I would find [system] useful in my job.

Perceived Ease of Use — degree to which a person believes using the system will be free of effort (Likert 1–7, extremely unlikely to extremely likely)

• Learning to operate [system] would be easy for me.
• I would find it easy to get [system] to do what I want it to do.
• My interaction with [system] would be clear and understandable.
• I would find [system] to be flexible to interact with.
• It would be easy for me to become skilful at using [system].
• I would find [system] easy to use.

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

Usage notes & scoring

Two subscale scores. Score = mean per subscale. Freely available — widely reproduced across thousands of studies. TAM has been applied to e-commerce, mobile banking, AI assistants, health apps, and wearables. TAM2 (Venkatesh & Davis, 2000) adds social influence and cognitive instrumental processes; UTAUT extends further.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Davis, F.D. (1989). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. MIS Quarterly, 13(3), 319–340.

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