Prior consumer research has demonstrated the ability of promotion and prevention regulatory orientations to moderate a variety of consumer and marketing phenomena but also has used several different methods to measure chronic regulatory focus. This article assesses five chronic regulatory focus measures using the criteria of theoretical coverage, internal consistency, homogeneity, stability, and predictive ability. The results reveal a lack of convergence among the measures and variation in their performance along these criteria. The authors provide specific guidance for choosing a particular measure in regulatory focus research and suggest a composite measure.
AakerJennifer L., and LeeAngela Y. (2001), “‘I’ Seek Pleasures and ‘We’ Avoid Pains: The Role of Self-Regulatory Goals in Information Processing and Persuasion,”Journal of Consumer Research, 28(June), 33–49.
2.
AakerJennifer L., and LeeAngela Y. (2006), “Understanding Regulatory Fit,”Journal of Marketing Research, 38(February), 15–19.
3.
AvnetTamar, and Tory HigginsE. (2006), “How Regulatory Fit Affects Value in Consumer Choices and Opinions,”Journal of Marketing Research, 43(February), 1–10.
4.
BentlerPeter M. (1990), “Comparative Fit Indexes in Structural Models,”Psychological Bulletin, 107(2), 238–46.
5.
BrocknerJoel, ParuchuriSrikanth, IdsonLorraine Chen, and Tory HigginsE. (2002), “Regulatory Focus and the Probability Estimates of Conjunctive and Disjunctive Events,”Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 87(January), 5–24.
6.
CampbellDonald T., and FiskeDonald W. (1959), “Convergent and Discriminant Validity by the Multitrait–Multimethod Matrix,”Psychological Bulletin, 56(2), 81–105.
7.
CarverCharles S., and WhiteTeri L. (1994), “Behavioral Inhibition, Behavioral Activation, and Affective Responses to Impending Reward and Punishment: The BIS/BAS Scales,”Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(2), 319–33.
8.
CunninghamWilliam A., PreacherKristopher J., and BanajiMahzarin R. (2001), “Implicit Attitude Measures: Consistency, Stability, and Convergent Validity,”Psychological Science, 12(2), 163–70.
9.
DholakiaUtpal M., GopinathMahesh, and BagozziRichard P. (2005), “The Role of Desires in Sequential Impulsive Choices,”Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 98(2), 179–94.
10.
DholakiaUtpal M., GopinathMahesh, and BagozziRichard P., and NataraajanRajan (2006), “The Role of Regulatory Focus in the Experience and Self-Control of Desire for Temptations,”Journal of Consumer Psychology, 16(2), 165–77.
11.
FitzsimonsGavan J. (2008), “Death to Dichotomizing,”Journal of Consumer Research, 35(1), 5–8.
12.
FriedmanRonald S., and FörsterJens (2001), “The Effects of Promotion and Prevention Cues on Creativity,”Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81(6), 1001–1013.
13.
GrayJeffrey A. (1990), “Brain Systems that Mediate Both Emotion and Cognition,”Cognition and Emotion, 4(3), 268–88.
14.
HerzensteinMichal, PosavacSteven S., and Jokso BrakusJ. (2007), “Adoption of New and Really New Products: The Effects of Self-Regulation Systems and Risk Salience,”Journal of Marketing Research, 44(May), 251–60.
15.
ToryHiggins E. (1997), “Beyond Pleasure and Pain,”American Psychologist, 52(December), 1280–1300.
16.
ToryHiggins E. (1998), “Promotion and Prevention: Regulatory Focus as a Motivational Principle,” in Advances in Experimental Psychology, Vol. 30, ZannaM.P., ed. New York: Academic Press,1–46.
17.
ToryHiggins E. (2000), “Does Personality Provide Unique Explanations for Behaviour? Personality as Cross-Person Variability in General Principles,”European Journal of Personality, 14(January), 391–407.
18.
ToryHiggins E. (2002), “How Self-Regulation Creates Distinct Values: The Case of Promotion and Prevention Decision Making,”Journal of Consumer Psychology, 12(3), 177–92.
19.
ToryHiggins E., BondRonald N., KleinRuth, and StraumanTimothy (1986), “Self-Discrepancies and Emotional Vulnerability: How Magnitude, Accessibility, and Type of Discrepancy Influence Affect,”Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(July), 5–15.
20.
ToryHiggins E., FriedmanRonald S., HarlowRobert E., IdsonLorraine C., AydukOzlem N., and TaylorAmy (2001), “Achievement Orientations from Subjective Histories of Success: Promotion Pride Versus Prevention Pride,”European Journal of Social Psychology, 31(1), 3–23.
21.
ToryHiggins E., ShahJames, and FriedmanRonald (1997), “Emotional Responses to Goal Attainment: Strength of Regulatory Focus as Moderator,”Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(March), 515–25.
22.
ToryHiggins E., and SilbermanIsraela (1998), “Development of Regulatory Focus: Promotion and Prevention as Ways of Living,” in Motivation and Self-Regulation Across the Life Span, HeckhausenJutta, and DweckCarol S., eds. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press,78–113.
23.
ToryHiggins E., and SpiegelScott (2004), “Promotion and Prevention Strategies for Self-Regulation: A Motivated Cognition Perspective,” in Handbook of Self-Regulation: Research, Theory, and Applications, BaumeisterRoy F., and VohsKathleen D., eds. New York: Guilford Press,171–87.
24.
HongJiewen, and LeeAngela (2008), “Be Fit and Be Strong: Mastering Self-Regulation Through Regulatory Fit,”Journal of Consumer Research, 34(February), 682–95.
25.
JainShailendra Pratap, LindseyCharles, AgrawalNidhi, and MaheswaranDurairaj (2007), “For Better or For Worse? Valenced Comparative Frames and Regulatory Focus,”Journal of Consumer Research, 34(1), 57–65.
LeeAngela Y., and AakerJennifer L. (2004), “Bringing the Frame into Focus: The Influence of Regulatory Fit on Processing Fluency and Persuasion,”Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86(2), 205–218.
28.
LockwoodPenelope, JordonChristian H., and KundaZiva (2002), “Motivation by Positive or Negative Role Models: Regulatory Focus Determines Who Will Best Inspire Us,”Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(4), 854–64.
29.
LouroMaria J., PietersRik, and ZeelenbergMarcel (2005), “Negative Returns on Positive Emotions: The Influence of Pride and Self-Regulatory Goals on Repurchase Intentions,”Journal of Consumer Research, 31(March), 833–40.
30.
MarshHerbert W., BallaJohn R., and HauKit T. (1996), “An Evaluation of Incremental Fit Indices. A Clarification of Mathematical and Empirical Properties,” in Advanced Structural Equation Modeling: Issues and Techniques, MarcoulidesGeorge A., and SchumackerRandall E., eds. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates,315–53.
31.
PedhazurElazar J., and SchmelkinLiora Pedhazur (1991), Measurement, Design, and Analysis: An Integrated Approach.New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
32.
PaulPeter J. (1979), “Reliability: A Review of Psychometric Bases and Recent Marketing Practices,”Journal of Marketing Research, 16(February), 6–17.
33.
PhamMichel Tuan, and AvnetTamar (2004), “Ideals and Oughts and the Reliance on Affect Versus Substance in Persuasion,”Journal of Consumer Research, 30(March), 503–518.
34.
PhamMichel Tuan, and ChangHannah (2008), “Regulatory Focus and Regulatory Fit in Consumer Search and Consideration of Alternatives,” working paper, Graduate School of Business, Columbia University.
35.
PhamMichel Tuan, and Tory HigginsE. (2005), “Promotion and Prevention in Consumer Decision Making: The State of the Art of Theoretical Propositions,” in Inside Consumption: Consumer Motives, Goals, and Desires, RatneshwarS., and MickDavid G., eds. London: Routledge,8–43.
36.
ShahJames, Tory HigginsE., and FriedmanRonald S. (1998), “Performance Incentives and Means: How Regulatory Focus Influences Goal Attainment,”Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(2), 285–93.
37.
SimmsLeonard J., and WatsonDavid (2007), “The Construct Validation Approach to Personality Scale Construction,” in Handbook of Research Methods in Personality Psychology, RichardW. RobinsJr., FraleyChris, and KruegerRobert F., eds. New York: Guilford Press,240–58.
38.
WangJing, and LeeAngela Y. (2006), “The Role of Regulatory Focus in Preference Construction,”Journal of Marketing Research, 43(February), 28–38.
39.
YeoJunsang, and ParkJongwon (2006), “Effects of Parent Extension Similarity and Self Regulatory Focus on Evaluations of Brand Extensions,”Journal of Consumer Psychology, 16(3), 272–82.
40.
ZhaoGuangzi, and PechmannCornelia (2007), “The Impact of Regulatory Focus on Adolescents’ Response to Antismoking Advertising Campaigns,”Journal of Marketing Research, 44(November), 671–87.
41.
ZhouRongrong, and PhamMichel Tuan (2004), “Promotion and Prevention Across Mental Accounts: When Financial Products Dictate Consumers’ Investment Goals,”Journal of Consumer Research, 31(June), 125–35.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
