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Updated: Jul 5, 2025
08:24
The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies
Published on: August 25, 2023
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The Perceived Economic Scarcity Scale: A valid tool with greater predictive utility than income
Victor Auger1, Nicolas Sommet2, Alice Normand1
1LAPSCO, Clermont Auvergne University, Clermont-Ferrand, France.
The British Journal of Social Psychology
|January 11, 2024
Summary
The Perceived Economic Scarcity Scale (PESS) reliably measures feelings of financial insufficiency. This new scale predicts psychological outcomes better than income alone.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
- Sociology
Background:
- Economic scarcity, the subjective experience of lacking financial resources, significantly impacts well-being.
- Existing measures may not fully capture the nuanced experience of perceived economic scarcity.
- A validated instrument is needed to assess this construct and its psychological consequences.
Purpose of the Study:
- Introduce and validate the Perceived Economic Scarcity Scale (PESS).
- Evaluate the psychometric properties, including reliability and validity, of the PESS.
- Determine the predictive utility of the PESS for affective and cognitive outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Developed and refined items for the PESS using Principal Component Analysis and Exploratory Factor Analysis.
- Conducted three high-powered studies (N=1900) to assess construct and predictive validity.
- Examined PESS reliability, including test-retest reliability and incremental validity over income.
Main Results:
- The PESS demonstrated strong psychometric properties, including excellent test-retest reliability.
- The PESS measures a distinct construct, separate from subjective social class.
- PESS scores significantly predicted anxiety-depressive symptoms and economic risk-taking, outperforming income as a predictor.
Conclusions:
- The Perceived Economic Scarcity Scale (PESS) is a valid and reliable measure of subjective economic scarcity.
- The PESS offers greater predictive utility for psychological outcomes than objective income.
- The PESS can be a valuable tool for researchers investigating the psychological impact of financial resource limitations.
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