A short form of the Maximization Scale: Factor structure, reliability and validity studies

By Gergana Y. Nenkov, M. Morrin, A. Ward, Barry Schwartz, John Hulland. Judgment and Decision Making, 2008

288 citations recorded by the source corpus.

We conducted an analysis of the 13-item Maximization Scale (Schwartz et al., 2002) with the goal of establishing its factor structure, reliability and validity. We also investigated the psychometric properties of several proposed refined versions of the scale. Four sets of analyses are reported. The first analysis confirms the 3-part factor structure of the scale and assesses its reliability. The second analysis identifies those items that do not perform well on the basis of internal, external, and judgmental criteria, and develops three shorter versions of the scale. In the third analysis, the three refined versions of the scale are cross-validated to confirm dimensionality, reliability, and validity. The fourth analysis uses an experiment in an investment decision making context to assess the reliability and nomological validity of the refined scales. These analyses lead us to conclude that a shorter, 6-item Maximization Scale performs best and should be used by future researchers. It is hoped that clarification of the conceptual underpinnings of the maximization construct and development of a refined scale will enhance its use among researchers across several of the social science disciplines.

Subfields: Applied Psychology, Social Psychology, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/444300da6ca2869ca20ca2433a96f24e6afe60b2

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In Applied Psychology

1. Jingjing Ma
2. Alfred Kobsa
3. Mark Cleveland
4. Bart P. Knijnenburg
5. Patrick Hille
6. Gianfranco Walsh
7. N. Betz
8. N. Roese

In Social Psychology

1. Hye Bin Rim
2. Brandon M. Turner
3. Thomas E. Nygren
4. Gianfranco Walsh
5. N. Betz
6. N. Roese
7. Jingjing Ma
8. Shao-I Chiu

In Sociology and Political Science

1. John O'Donovan
2. Alfred Kobsa
3. Bart P. Knijnenburg
4. Gianfranco Walsh
5. N. Betz
6. N. Roese
7. Jingjing Ma

Citations in the corpus

• On the meaning and measurement of maximization (2016, unknown): “That said, the latter two components fit conceptually with the suggestions of Nenkov et al. (2008), though the decision difficulty factor of the MS-R borders on conflating alternative search and decision difficulty by combining items from both factors in the MS.”
• Inspectability and control in social recommenders (2012, background): “Additionally, 5 items on choice persistence (taken from [34]) failed to converge to a stable factor.”
• The maximizing mind-set (2014, background): “In terms of the consequences of maximizing, past research has shown that maximizers are less happy and less optimistic (and more depressed and regretful) than satisficers (Chang et al. 2011; Nenkov et al. 2008; Purvis, Howell, and Iyer 2011; Rim et al. 2011; Roets, Schwartz, and Guan 2012; Schwartz ”
• The Maximization Inventory (2012, background): “Based on the analyses of Nenkov et al. (2008), the items can be organized into three factors, “alternative search,” “decision difficulty” and “high standards” (pp.”
• Consumer Fear of Online Identity Theft: Scale Development and Validation (2015, methodology): “Thirteen scientific assistants judged the comprehensibility and readability of the items (Nenkov et al. 2008).”