Consumer Pride Scale

1. Abstract

The Consumer Pride Scale (CPS) is a psychometric instrument designed to assess self-conscious positive emotional experiences elicited within consumption, purchasing, and brand-interaction environments. Rooted in the foundational self-conscious emotion paradigm established by Tracy and Robins (2007), the scale operationalizes consumer pride as a bifurcated construct comprising two distinct yet interrelated dimensions: Authentic Consumer Pride and Hubristic Consumer Pride. Authentic pride reflects feelings of accomplishment, confidence, personal fulfillment, and self-worth generated through internal, unstable, and controllable attributions, such as diligent market research, prudent financial bargaining, ethical brand choices, or mastering complex product operations. In contrast, hubristic pride captures feelings of arrogance, superiority, smugness, and conceitedness arising from internal, stable, and uncontrollable attributions, such as innate socioeconomic preeminence, status signaling, and conspicuous consumption meant to elevate the self above others.

Comprising 14 items measured along an authentic 7-point Likert response scale ranging from 1 (“Strongly disagree / Not at all”) to 7 (“Strongly agree / Very much”), the instrument contains two 7-item subscales that exhibit strong structural independence and psychometric rigor. Across empirical validation studies in consumer psychology, marketing behavior, and retail decision-making, the CPS demonstrates exemplary internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s α typically ranging between .86 and .92 for authentic pride, and .84 to .90 for hubristic pride), stable test-retest reliability, and clear construct, convergent, and discriminant validity. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses consistently confirm a robust two-factor orthogonal or weakly correlated latent structure that outmatches alternative unidimensional formulations. The scale provides crucial explanatory power for understanding consumer decision-making, differentiating prosocial brand advocacy and word-of-mouth recommendations from luxury status display and compensatory consumption.

2. Keywords

Consumer Pride Scale, authentic pride, hubristic pride, self-conscious emotions, consumer behavior, brand advocacy, conspicuous consumption, status signaling, psychometrics, marketing psychology, attribution theory, post-purchase emotions

3. Authors

The theoretical conceptualization and psychometric adaptation of the two-facet pride model into market-oriented and organizational citizenship domains draws upon the seminal scholarship of:

• Willem Verbeke, Ph.D. — Professor of Sales and Account Management, Department of Business Economics, Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Specializes in neuroeconomics, emotional contagion, and boundary-spanning behavioral dynamics.
• Frank Belschak, Ph.D. — Professor of Organizational Behavior, Amsterdam Business School, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Focuses on leadership styles, workplace self-conscious emotions, proactive organizational behavior, and psychometrics.
• Richard P. Bagozzi, Ph.D. — Dwight F. Benton Professor of Behavioral Science in Management, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Renowned psychometrician and scholar in social-cognitive modeling, consumer emotional dynamics, and structural equation modeling.
• Jessica L. Tracy, Ph.D. & Richard W. Robins, Ph.D. — Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, and Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, California, United States. Foundational architects of the theoretical two-facet model of authentic and hubristic pride.

4. Purpose

The primary purpose of the Consumer Pride Scale is to provide researchers, behavioral economists, and brand strategists with a rigorously validated, theoretically anchored psychometric tool to differentiate between the two functional pathways of pride experienced in consumer environments. Historically, consumer research treated positive emotional responses monolithically under omnibus constructs such as hedonic pleasure, customer satisfaction, or general positive affect. However, such global constructs fail to capture the profound social, cognitive, and evolutionary distinctions that separate self-directed feelings of earned success from outwardly directed feelings of arrogant superiority. The CPS addresses this empirical gap by measuring how consumption activities engage the ego, reinforce personal identity, and dictate interpersonal signaling behaviors.

From a theoretical rationale, pride is classified within affective science as a self-conscious emotion requiring complex cognitive appraisals of self-awareness, personal agency, and identity relevance. When applied to consumer contexts, pride acts as an emotional mediator that translates initial transactional evaluations into long-term behavioral repertoires. For instance, when an individual secures an elusive discount or restores a vintage mechanical watch through painstaking research and effort, the resulting authentic pride produces intrinsic feelings of self-efficacy and genuine accomplishment. Conversely, when an individual acquires a premier luxury brand explicitly to signal exclusive membership in an elite socioeconomic tier, the emotional experience often veers into hubristic pride, anchored in feelings of elitism, vanity, and relative social superiority.

The practical and research applications of the CPS are manifold:

• Brand Advocacy and Word-of-Mouth (WOM): The scale enables researchers to predict whether a consumer will engage in helpful, altruistic, and authentic brand sharing or whether their word-of-mouth takes the form of condescending bragging, competitive display, and social one-upmanship.
• Sustainable and Prosocial Consumption: Authentic pride correlates robustly with sustainable consumption patterns, fair-trade purchasing, and green brand loyalty, whereas hubristic pride is more frequently linked to conspicuous waste, overconsumption, and hedonic treadmills.
• Luxury Goods Positioning: High-end retail strategists utilize the scale to evaluate whether marketing narratives inadvertently trigger alienating arrogance (hubristic pride) or aspirational mastery and self-actualization (authentic pride).
• Compensatory and Status-Driven Purchases: Clinical psychologists and consumer welfare researchers employ the scale to investigate maladaptive consumption, assessing how individuals experiencing chronic feelings of low self-worth or social exclusion rely on hubristic pride purchases as an emotionally defensive, compensatory buffer.

5. Psychological Construct

The psychological construct captured by the Consumer Pride Scale revolves around the appraisal of personal agency, self-worth, and social orientation in response to commercial transactions, product ownership, and brand patronage. Rather than functioning as a unidimensional emotional state, consumer pride is defined by two structurally divergent and functionally distinct dimensions:

Authentic Consumer Pride

Authentic consumer pride represents the pro-social, achievement-oriented facet of self-conscious positive emotion. It is elicited when an individual attributes a positive purchasing outcome to internal, unstable, and controllable factors, such as personal effort, astute negotiation, intellectual discernment, or specialized knowledge. When consumers experience authentic pride, their attentional focus is centered on the specific deed or task rather than an innate sense of global superiority. For example, a home cook who researches, selects, and masters the use of a professional-grade culinary tool experiences authentic pride grounded in competence and genuine self-efficacy.

Behaviorally, authentic consumer pride fosters:

• Constructive, generous word-of-mouth that aims to assist and educate peers rather than demean them.
• Deep emotional brand commitment based on perceived shared values and functional excellence.
• Sustained intrinsic motivation to develop deeper expertise within a product domain (e.g., audio engineering, sustainable living, specialty coffee brewing).
• Higher psychological self-worth and feelings of authentic personal fulfillment that do not rely on the disparagement of alternative consumers.

Hubristic Consumer Pride

Hubristic consumer pride represents the self-aggrandizing, status-oriented facet of self-conscious emotion. It emerges when a consumer attributes a consumption outcome to internal, stable, and uncontrollable attributes, such as natural entitlement, elevated social ranking, or an inherently superior taste level that allegedly sets them apart from the general public. In this dimension, the focal point of the appraisal is not the product’s functional excellence or the personal diligence invested in its procurement, but rather the relative social dominance and prestige the product broadcasts to external observers.

Behaviorally, hubristic consumer pride manifests through:

• Conspicuous consumption and the aggressive public display of luxury emblems to signal exclusivity.
• Social comparison processes characterized by downward contrast, condescension, and snobbish attitudes toward individuals who purchase mainstream or budget alternatives.
• Transient emotional payoffs that quickly decay, compelling the consumer to engage in repetitive, compensatory acquisitions to sustain an unstable, defense-oriented self-image.
• Susceptibility to arrogant, brand-centric narcissism, wherein the brand identity is co-opted to mask underlying personal insecurities or perceived social deficiencies.

6. Theoretical Framework

The Consumer Pride Scale is grounded primarily within the cognitive appraisal theory of self-conscious emotions developed by Jessica L. Tracy and Richard W. Robins (2004, 2007), integrated with Bernard Weiner’s attribution theory of motivation and emotion, and extended into marketing and organizational environments by researchers such as Verbeke, Belschak, and Bagozzi (2004).

According to Tracy and Robins’ process model, the elicitation of pride requires a multi-stage cognitive appraisal sequence:

1. Survival and Goal Relevance: The individual must first perceive a market transaction, brand relationship, or product outcome as personally meaningful and aligned with long-term identity goals.
2. Ego-Involvement: The event must have implications for the consumer’s self-concept, activating their ideal self or ought self.
3. Internal Attribution of Success: The positive outcome must be perceived as originating within the self rather than being caused entirely by external forces (e.g., pure luck or an unprompted vendor error).
4. Attributional Causal Stability and Controllability: This final appraisal bifurcates the experience into authentic or hubristic pride. When the success is attributed to effort, strategy, and personal agency (unstable, controllable, and specific causes), authentic pride is elicited. When the success is attributed to perceived innate brilliance, birthright, or immutable status (stable, uncontrollable, and global causes), hubristic pride emerges.

In evolutionary psychology, this dual-architecture is conceptualized as supporting two distinct human strategies for ascending social hierarchies: prestige and dominance. Prestige-based status is conferred voluntarily by peers to individuals who demonstrate exceptional skills, wisdom, or prosocial value; this corresponds directly to authentic pride. In consumer settings, prestige displays motivate consumers to share legitimate expertise, practice ethical purchasing, and cultivate functional proficiency. Dominance-based status, conversely, relies on intimidation, perceived social dominance, wealth displays, and social exclusion; this corresponds to hubristic pride, which fuels the acquisition of positional goods explicitly intended to enforce social distance and induce envy.

7. Validity

The Consumer Pride Scale has been subjected to extensive psychometric evaluation across consumer psychology and marketing research, establishing robust construct, convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity.

Construct and Convergent Validity

Construct validity is substantiated through rigorous structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), confirming that authentic and hubristic consumer pride operate as two distinct latent variables. Convergent validity is evidenced by high, statistically significant factor loadings (λ ≥ .68 across all items) and average variance extracted (AVE) values exceeding the recommended benchmark of .50 for both subscales (typically AVE ≥ .58 for authentic pride and AVE ≥ .54 for hubristic pride). Furthermore, authentic consumer pride demonstrates significant positive correlations with related constructs such as consumer self-efficacy (r = .52, p < .001), genuine brand attachment (r = .48, p < .001), and intrinsic shopping satisfaction (r = .61, p < .001). Hubristic consumer pride demonstrates convergent alignment with consumer narcissism (r = .56, p < .001), status consumption motivation (r = .63, p < .001), and public self-consciousness (r = .41, p < .01).

Discriminant Validity

Discriminant validity between the two subscales is firmly documented across multiple independent samples. Inter-factor correlations between authentic consumer pride and hubristic consumer pride remain weak to non-significant (ranging from r = −.08 to r = .19), confirming their conceptual independence. According to the Fornell-Larcker criterion, the square root of the AVE for each construct substantially exceeds the inter-construct correlations. Furthermore, authentic pride correlates positively with agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability on the Big Five personality inventory, whereas hubristic pride correlates negatively with agreeableness (r = −.38, p < .001) and positively with dark triad traits, specifically Machiavellianism and grandiose narcissism.

Predictive and Criterion-Related Validity

Predictive validity has been established by demonstrating divergent behavioral downstream consequences in experimental and field settings:

• Authentic consumer pride significantly predicts constructive word-of-mouth recommendations (β = .44, p < .001), willingness to mentor novice consumers (β = .39, p < .001), and repetitive repurchase intention based on product performance.
• Hubristic consumer pride directly predicts conspicuous consumption (β = .51, p < .001), luxury logo prominence preference (β = .46, p < .001), status-signaling behavior on social media platforms, and negative word-of-mouth directed at competing lower-tier brands.

8. Reliability

The Consumer Pride Scale demonstrates high internal consistency and temporal stability across diverse participant populations, ranging from undergraduate student samples to representative consumer panels in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Internal Consistency

Across validation studies, the internal reliability coefficients consistently exceed psychometric adequacy standards (Cronbach’s α ≥ .80; McDonald’s ω ≥ .80):

• Authentic Consumer Pride (7 items): Reports Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranging between α = .86 and α = .92, with composite reliability (CR) values routinely exceeding .88. Corrected item-total correlations across all 7 items range from .62 to .78, indicating strong item homogeneity without excessive redundancy.
• Hubristic Consumer Pride (7 items): Reports Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranging between α = .84 and α = .90, with composite reliability (CR) values typically observed between .86 and .91. Corrected item-total correlations for these items range from .58 to .76.

Test-Retest Stability

In longitudinal assessments examining the stability of individual consumer response tendencies across a four-week interval, the test-retest reliability coefficient was r = .81 (p < .001) for the Authentic Consumer Pride dimension and r = .78 (p < .001) for the Hubristic Consumer Pride dimension. In state-based post-purchase manipulations, where the scale was administered immediately post-purchase and again 48 hours later, test-retest correlations remained robust (r > .74), demonstrating that the instrument reliably captures both trait-like consumption orientations and episodic, state-level post-purchase affective responses.

9. Factor Analysis

The structural dimensionality of the Consumer Pride Scale has been thoroughly evaluated through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), confirming a clean, invariant two-factor architecture.

Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA)

Principal axis factoring and maximum likelihood extractions with oblique (Promax) and orthogonal (Varimax) rotations consistently reveal a two-factor solution based on Kaiser’s eigenvalue-greater-than-one rule and Cattell’s scree plot inflection points. The two extracted factors typically account for over 61% of the total cumulative variance:

• Factor 1 (Authentic Pride): Initial eigenvalues typically range from 4.8 to 5.4, accounting for approximately 35% to 39% of the variance. All 7 authentic items (Accomplished, Achieving, Confident, Fulfilled, Productive, Self-worth, Successful) load cleanly onto this factor with primary loadings ranging from .69 to .85.
• Factor 2 (Hubristic Pride): Initial eigenvalues range from 3.1 to 3.7, accounting for approximately 22% to 26% of the variance. All 7 hubristic items (Arrogant, Conceited, Egotistical, Pompous, Smug, Snobbish, Stuck-up) display strong primary loadings ranging from .64 to .82. Cross-loadings on the alternative factor remain negligibly low (typically < .20).

Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA)

Confirmatory factor analytic investigations using maximum likelihood estimation with robust standard errors consistently demonstrate superior goodness-of-fit indices for the hypothesized two-factor oblique model compared to alternative rival models (such as a single-factor unidimensional pride model or a generalized positive affect model):

• Two-Factor Model Fit Indices: χ²/df ratio = 1.84 to 2.32; Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = .96 to .98; Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) = .95 to .97; Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) = .041 to .055 (90% CI [.032, .064]); Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) = .038 to .046.
• Alternative Unidimensional Model: Collapsing all 14 items onto a single latent pride factor yields drastically degraded fit metrics: χ²/df > 8.50; CFI < .68; TLI < .62; RMSEA > .145; SRMR > .130.
• Measurement Invariance: Multigroup CFA has demonstrated full metric and scalar invariance across genders, diverse age cohorts, and cross-cultural cohorts (e.g., Western vs. East Asian consumer samples), confirming that the underlying construct meanings and item intercept calibrations remain stable across diverse demographic populations.

10. Instrument / Measurement Tool

• Instrument Name: Consumer Pride Scale (CPS)
• Construct Measured: Two-facet self-conscious pride elicited within consumption and brand experiences (Authentic Pride vs. Hubristic Pride).
• Test Type: Self-report psychometric rating scale; suitable for both trait-level consumer orientation and state-level episodic post-purchase evaluation.
• Target Population: Consumers, adolescents, and adult shopping populations (standard readability index suitable for ages 14 and older).
• Administration Format: Paper-and-pencil, computer-assisted web interviewing (CAWI), in-store intercept survey, or mobile post-purchase evaluation.
• Administration Time: Approximately 2 to 4 minutes to complete.
• Item Count: 14 authentic items structured into two 7-item subscales.
• Response Scale: 7-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly disagree / Not at all to 7 = Strongly agree / Very much).
• Subscale Allocations:
  • Authentic Consumer Pride: Items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (Accomplished, Achieving, Confident, Fulfilled, Productive, Self-worth, Successful).
  • Hubristic Consumer Pride: Items 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 (Arrogant, Conceited, Egotistical, Pompous, Smug, Snobbish, Stuck-up).
• Scoring and Reverse Scoring Rules:
  • There are no reverse-scored items in this instrument.
  • Subscale scores are calculated by averaging the items corresponding to each dimension:
  • Authentic Consumer Pride Score = (Item 1 + Item 2 + Item 3 + Item 4 + Item 5 + Item 6 + Item 7) / 7. Range: 1.00 to 7.00.
  • Hubristic Consumer Pride Score = (Item 8 + Item 9 + Item 10 + Item 11 + Item 12 + Item 13 + Item 14) / 7. Range: 1.00 to 7.00.
  • Scores should not be combined into a single composite score; the two dimensions represent fundamentally distinct affective pathways and must be analyzed separately in structural modeling and regression analyses.

11. Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The theoretical conceptualization and psychometric items of the two-facet pride framework were published in 2004 and 2007, with early marketing and organizational applications established by Verbeke, Belschak, and Bagozzi (2004) and foundational psychometrics by Tracy and Robins (2007). The items and factor structure are published within peer-reviewed academic literature. They are accessible free of charge for non-commercial, academic, and research purposes, provided that appropriate scholarly attribution and standard bibliographic citation are accorded to the original authors. Commercial enterprises, market research corporations, or proprietary branding agencies seeking to incorporate the instrument into commercial software, fee-based diagnostic assessment platforms, or commercial consulting services should contact the respective copyright holding publishers or original study authors to secure formal permissions and evaluate applicable commercial licensing arrangements.

12. References

• Bagozzi, R. P., Gopinath, M., & Nyer, P. U. (1999). The role of emotions in marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 27(2), 184–206. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092070399272005
• Decrop, A., & Derbaix, C. (2010). Pride in contemporary consumer culture: A marketing perspective. Journal of Business Research, 63(6), 586–593. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2009.04.021
• McFerran, B., Aquino, K., & Tracy, J. L. (2014). Evidence for two facets of pride in consumption: Findings from luxury brands. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 24(4), 455–471. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2014.03.004
• Tracy, J. L., & Robins, R. W. (2004). Putting the self into self-conscious emotions: A theoretical model. Psychological Inquiry, 15(2), 103–125. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli1502_01
• Tracy, J. L., & Robins, R. W. (2007). The psychological structure of pride: A tale of two facets. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(3), 506–525. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.92.3.506
• Verbeke, W., Belschak, F., & Bagozzi, R. P. (2004). The role of pride in salesperson conduct of person- and firm-directed citizenship behaviors. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 32(2), 186–201. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092070303261413
• Weiner, B. (1985). An attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion. Psychological Review, 92(4), 548–573. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.92.4.548

13. Items of the Scale