The standard consumer-research measure of materialism as a value — possessions as success, centrality, and route to happiness.
MarketingMarketing & Consumer BehaviorFree for research
At a glance
Construct measured
Materialism (success, centrality, happiness)
Developed by
Richins & Dawson (1992)
Original publication
Richins, M. L., & Dawson, S. (1992). A consumer values orientation for materialism and its measurement: Scale development and validation. Journal of Consumer Research, 19(3), 303–316. https://doi.org/10.1086/209304
Success (6 items) — possessions as indicators of achievement
Centrality (7 items) — acquisition as a central life focus
Happiness (5 items) — acquisition as a path to well-being
Reliability (commonly reported)
Total-scale alphas are commonly reported around .80–.88; subscales commonly in the .70s–.80s.
Validity evidence
Developed through multi-sample purification with content validation against materialism theory; the three-factor structure and a higher-order materialism factor are supported, with criterion links to self-centeredness, lower life satisfaction and spending patterns. Richins (2004) re-evaluated the psychometrics and recommended short forms.
Populations & contexts
Adult consumers and students; used across consumer-behavior, well-being and cross-cultural research.
Origin, translations & adaptations
United States. Translated into many languages; short forms behave best in cross-cultural work.
Licensing & permission
Free for academic research (cite the source) The items are printed in the published article and are routinely used in academic research with citation. Contact the publisher for commercial use.
How to cite (APA 7)
Richins, M. L., & Dawson, S. (1992). A consumer values orientation for materialism and its measurement: Scale development and validation. Journal of Consumer Research, 19(3), 303–316. https://doi.org/10.1086/209304
Short versions & notable variants
MVS short forms of 15, 9, 6 and 3 items (Richins, 2004, Journal of Consumer Research) — the 9-item form is a common choice