Marsha L. Richins

A Consumer Values Orientation for Materialism and Its Measurement: Scale Development and Validation

This article reviews the construct and measurement of materialism and concludes that materialism is appropriately conceptualized as a consumer value. The development of a values-oriented materialism scale with three components--acquisition centrality, acquisition as the pursuit of happiness, and possession-defined success--is described. In validation tests high scorers (compared with low scores) desired a higher level of income, place greater emphasis on financial security and less on interpersonal relationships, preferred to spend more on themselves and less on others, engaged in fewer voluntary simplicity behaviors, and were less satisfied with their lives. Copyright 1992 by the University of Chicago.

Measuring Emotions in the Consumption Experience

Although consumption-related emotions have been studied with increasing frequency in consumer behavior, issues concerning the appropriate way to measure these emotions remain unresolved This article reviews the emotion measures currently used in consumer research and the theories on which they are based; it concludes that the existing measures are unsuited for the purpose of measuring consumption-related emotions. The article describes six empirical studies that assess the domain of consumption-related emotions, that identify an appropriate set of consumption emotion descriptors (the CES), and that compare the usefulness of this descriptor set with the usefulness of other measures in assessing consumption-related emotions. Copyright 1997 by the University of Chicago.

Valuing Things: The Public and Private Meanings of Possessions

Consumers own objects for the value they provide. This article argues that the value of possessions resides in their meanings and further makes a distinction between the public and private meanings of possessions. The nature of these meanings is elaborated, and three studies are described that assess the public and private meanings of the possessions consumers value most. Similarities and differences between the two sorts of meaning are examined, and implications of meaning for the understanding of consumer behavior are discussed. Copyright 1994 by the University of Chicago.

Social Comparison and the Idealized Images of Advertising

This article reviews theories that might explain how advertising causes dissatisfaction with the self. It is hypothesized that consumers compare themselves with idealized advertising images. Exposure to such images may change consumers comparison standards for what they desire or lower perceptions of their own performance on relevant dimensions; the result is lowered satisfaction. Explanatory and experimental research examined these hypotheses in the context of idealized images of physical attractiveness in ads targeted at young women. Evidence for comparison was found. Results suggest that idealized images raised comparison standards for attractiveness and lowered satisfaction with ones own attractiveness. Copyright 1991 by the University of Chicago.

The Material Values Scale: Measurement Properties and Development of a Short Form

In recent years, a number of studies have used the material values scale (MVS) developed by Richins and Dawson ([1992][1]) to examine materialism as a facet of consumer behavior. This research examines the MVS in light of the accumulated evidence concerning this measure. A review of published studies reporting information about the scale and analysis of 15 raw data sets that contain the MVS and other measures revealed that the MVS performs well in terms of reliability and empirical usefulness, but the dimensional structure proposed by Richins and Dawson is not always evident in the data. This article proposes a 15-item measure of the MVS that has better dimension properties than the original version. It also reports the development of a short version of the MVS. Scale lengths of nine, six, and three items were investigated. Results indicate that the nine-item version possesses acceptable psychometric properties when used to measure materialism at a general level. This article also describes a psychometric approach for developing shorter versions of extant multiitem measures. [1]: #ref-15

After the New Wears Off: The Temporal Context of Product Involvement

While product involvement has been identified as a significant variable in consumer behavior, the precise nature of such involvement is still not well understood. The study reported here utilizes a longitudinal design to provide evidence for the notion that there are two forms of product involvement. The study also documents the differing temporal patterns of behaviors associated with each form. Behaviors associated with enduring involvement were stable over time, while those behaviors resulting from situational involvement declined once the situation inducing the involvement changed.

A multivariate analysis of responses to dissatisfaction

Although consumer dissatisfaction is ubiquitous in the marketplace, empirical studies of dissatisfaction have been narrow in focus. This is especially true for studies of responses to dissatisfaction, for these investigations tend to ignore all dissatisfaction responses except complaint behavior. The study reported here replicates and extends an earlier investigation by concurrently examining three dissatisfaction responses—complaints, word of mouth, and brand switching intentions. Three sets of variables were examined in relationship to these responses: characteristics of the product problem, perceptions of the redress environment, and consumer characteristics. Complaint behavior and intention to switch brands showed strongest relationships with the first two types of variables. Word of mouth, on the other hand, seemed to be more heavily influenced by the consumer’s level of social interaction, a consumer characteristic. Findings indicate that the three dissatisfaction responses are independent in that they share little if any common variance and they seem to be influenced in different ways by the correlates studied.

An Analysis of Consumer Interaction Styles in the Marketplace

This study examines how consumers interact with representatives of marketing institutions by investigating the individual difference variables of consumer assertion and aggression. The development of scales to measure these variables is reported along with the validating analyses, which indicate that consumers may be divided into four groups based on the interaction strategies they use.

How Enduring and Situational Involvement Combine to Create Involvement Responses

Abstract Although a two-component model of product involvement is widely accepted, research has not studied how enduring and situational involvement combine to affect consumer responses. This article investigates three combination models. In particular, an additive model is compared with two interaction models, and the three models are tested empirically using field surveys. Results suggest that preexisting levels of enduring involvement neither magnify nor suppress situational involvement effects occurring around the time of purchase, thus supporting the simple additive model.

Materialism and economic psychology

Abstract This article argues that materialism is a variable relevant to many aspects of economic psychology. The definition and measurement of materialism are briefly reviewed, followed by a discussion of the potential relationships between materialism and several economic variables, including use of money, work motivation, giving, and material satisfaction. The paper concludes with a discussion of the use of economic goods in social communication and the potential role of materialism in such communication.