The Preference for Moderation Scale

We propose that individual differences in the value placed on the principle of moderation exist and influence many aspects of consumer decision-making. The idea that moderation is an important guiding norm of human behavior is prevalent throughout history and an explicit theme in many philosophies, religions, and cultures. Yet, moderation has not been studied as an individual-level determinant of consumer behavior. We develop a scale that measures the degree to which individuals have a Preference for Moderation (PFM). The PFM scale predicts consequential behavior in many decision contexts. We first report on scale development, including the generation and selection of items. We then report analyses showing that PFM is distinct from several popular individual-difference variables. Related to cultural background, PFM reliably predicts the use of compromise (study 1) and balancing (vs. highlighting) strategies (study 2), as well as various decision-making behaviors, including reliance on the representativeness heuristic (study 3), self-reported financial habits and outcomes (studies 4–5), real-world online-reviewing behavior (study 6), and split-ticket voting behavior in the 2018 US midterm elections (study 7).

[1]  G. Jacobson.  Partisan Polarization in American Politics: A Background Paper , 2013 .

[2]  Dennis E Reidy,et al.  A test of two brief measures of grandiose narcissism: the narcissistic personality inventory-13 and the narcissistic personality inventory-16. , 2013, Psychological assessment.

[3]  Aner Sela,et al.  On the Heritability of Consumer Decision Making: An Exploratory Approach for Studying Genetic Effects on Judgment and Choice , 2011 .

[4]  K. Stanovich.  Rationality and the Reflective Mind , 2010 .

[5]  Sergio Picazo-Vela,et al.  Why provide an online review? An extended theory of planned behavior and the role of Big-Five personality traits , 2010, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[6]  Richard G. Netemeyer,et al.  A Generalizable Scale of Propensity to Plan: The Long and the Short of Planning for Time and for Money , 2010 .

[7]  Dawn Iacobucci,et al.  Structural Equations Modeling: Fit Indices, Sample Size, and Advanced Topics , 2010 .

[8]  D. Iacobucci.  Everything You Always Wanted to Know About SEM (Structural Equations Modeling) But Were Afraid to Ask , 2009 .

[9]  Harry M. Clor.  On Moderation: Defending an Ancient Virtue in a Modern World , 2008 .

[10]  M. Fiorina,et al.  Political Polarization in the American Public , 2008 .

[11]  O. John,et al.  Paradigm shift to the integrative Big Five trait taxonomy: History, measurement, and conceptual issues. , 2008 .

[12]  Erich Kirchler,et al.  Regulatory Focus Scale (RFS): Development of a scale to record dispositional regulatory focus. , 2007 .

[13]  I. Choi,et al.  Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin Individual Differences in Analytic versus Holistic Thinking , 2022 .

[14]  E. Weber,et al.  A Domain-Specific Risk-Taking (DOSPERT) Scale for Adult Populations , 2006, Judgment and Decision Making.

[15]  T. Brennan.  The Stoic Life , 2005 .

[16]  T. Brennan.  The Stoic life : emotions, duties, and fate , 2005 .

[17]  Alexander Chernev,et al.  Extremeness Aversion and Attribute-Balance Effects in Choice , 2004 .

[18]  W. Keith Campbell,et al.  Psychological Entitlement: Interpersonal Consequences and Validation of a Self-Report Measure , 2004, Journal of personality assessment.

[19]  Oded Netzer,et al.  Extending Compromise Effect Models to Complex Buying Situations and Other Context Effects , 2004 .

[20]  R. Baumeister,et al.  High self-control predicts good adjustment, less pathology, better grades, and interpersonal success. , 2004, Journal of personality.

[21]  A. Drolet,et al.  Choice and self-expression: a cultural analysis of variety-seeking. , 2003, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[22]  Richard G. Netemeyer,et al.  Scaling Procedures: Issues and Applications , 2003 .

[23]  A. Drolet.  Inherent rule variability in consumer choice: Changing rules for change's sake , 2002 .

[24]  E. Weber,et al.  A Domain-Specific Risk-Attitude Scale: Measuring Risk Perceptions and Risk Behaviors , 2002 .

[25]  V. Folkes.  Presidential Address Is Consumer Behavior Different , 2002 .

[26]  B. Schwartz,et al.  Maximizing Versus Satisficing : Happiness Is a Matter of Choice , 2002 .

[27]  Michael W. Morris,et al.  Reasons as Carriers of Culture: Dynamic vs. Dispositional Models of Cultural Influence on Decision Making. Рассуждения как носители культуры: динамическая и диспозитная модели культурного влияния на принятие решений , 2000 .

[28]  A. Tversky,et al.  Indifference Curves that Travel with the Choice Set , 2000 .

[29]  Lance A. Bettencourt,et al.  Lifestyle of the Tight and Frugal: Theory and Measurement , 1999 .

[30]  Ravi Dhar,et al.  Making Complementary Choices in Consumption Episodes: Highlighting versus Balancing , 1999 .

[31]  P. Bentler,et al.  Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis : Conventional criteria versus new alternatives , 1999 .

[32]  R. Nisbett,et al.  Culture, dialectics, and reasoning about contradiction. , 1999 .

[33]  M. F. Luce,et al.  Constructive Consumer Choice Processes , 1998 .

[34]  H. Coward.  Population, consumption, and the environment : religious and secular responses , 1996 .

[35]  Petur O. Jonsson.  On meta-preferences and incomplete preference maps , 1996 .

[36]  D. Gerbing,et al.  Viability of exploratory factor analysis as a precursor to confirmatory factor analysis , 1996 .

[37]  R. Petty,et al.  The need to evaluate. , 1996 .

[38]  S. Haynes,et al.  Content validity in psychological assessment: A functional approach to concepts and methods. , 1995 .

[39]  R. Cialdini,et al.  Preference for Consistency: The Development of a Valid Measure and the Discovery of Surprising Behavioral Implications , 1995 .

[40]  M. Bond.  Emotions and their expression in Chinese culture , 1993 .

[41]  A. Tversky,et al.  Context-dependent preferences , 1993 .

[42]  R. Frost,et al.  The nature and measurement of compulsive indecisiveness. , 1993, Behaviour research and therapy.

[43]  Amartya Sen,et al.  INTERNAL CONSISTENCY OF CHOICE , 1993 .

[44]  Marsha L. Richins,et al.  A Consumer Values Orientation for Materialism and Its Measurement: Scale Development and Validation , 1992 .

[45]  A. Tversky,et al.  Choice in Context: Tradeoff Contrast and Extremeness Aversion , 1992 .

[46]  I. Simonson,et al.  Choice Based on Reasons: The Case of Attraction and Compromise Effects , 1989 .

[47]  P. Mitsis.  Epicurus Ethical Theory: The Pleasures of Invulnerability , 1989 .

[48]  J. Yum.  The impact of confucianism on interpersonal relationships and communication patterns in East Asia , 1988 .

[49]  D. Watson,et al.  Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. , 1988, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[50]  James C. Anderson,et al.  STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING IN PRACTICE: A REVIEW AND RECOMMENDED TWO-STEP APPROACH , 1988 .

[51]  P. Mitsis.  Epicurus' Ethical Theory , 1988 .

[52]  L. Crocker,et al.  Introduction to Classical and Modern Test Theory , 1986 .

[53]  北村俊則,et al.  日本語版Social Desirability Scaleについて , 1986 .

[54]  D. George.  Meta‐Preferences: Reconsidering Contemporary Notions of Free Choice , 1984 .

[55]  Charles Levine,et al.  Moral stages: A current formulation and a response to critics. , 1983 .

[56]  W. Reynolds.  Development of reliable and valid short forms of the marlowe-crowne social desirability scale , 1982 .

[57]  J. Cacioppo,et al.  The need for cognition. , 1982 .

[58]  C. Fornell,et al.  Evaluating Structural Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Measurement Error , 1981 .

[59]  A. Kleinman,et al.  Normal and abnormal behavior in Chinese culture , 1981 .

[60]  Keh‐ming Lin.  Traditional Chinese Medical Beliefs and Their Relevance for Mental Illness and Psychiatry , 1981 .

[61]  J. P. Peter.  Reliability: A Review of Psychometric Basics and Recent Marketing Practices , 1979 .

[62]  J. P. Peter.  Reliability: A Review of Psychometric Basics and Recent Marketing Practices , 1979 .

[63]  C. R. Snyder,et al.  Abnormality as a positive characteristic: The development and validation of a scale measuring need for uniqueness. , 1977 .

[64]  Thomas Lickona,et al.  Moral development and behavior : theory, research, and social issues , 1976 .

[65]  A. Tversky,et al.  Subjective Probability: A Judgment of Representativeness , 1972 .

[66]  D. J. Lee.  Society and the Adolescent Self-Image , 1969 .

[67]  E. Barratt,et al.  Factor Analysis of Some Psychometric Measures of Impulsiveness and Anxiety , 1965, Psychological reports.

[68]  M. Rosenberg,et al.  The measurement of self-esteem, Society and the adolescent self-image , 1965 .

[69]  Holmes H. Welch.  Taoism: The Parting of the Way , 1965 .