DECISION-MAKING STYLE - THE DEVELOPMENT AND ASSESSMENT OF A NEW MEASURE

A multistage, four sample study was conducted to develop a conceptuall y consistent and psychometrically sound measure of decision-making sty le. Construct definitions were developed from prior theory, and items were written to assess rational, avoidant, intuitive, and dependent de cision-making styles. A series of principal-axis factor analyses with varimax rotation and subsequent item analyses were conducted to develo p four conceptually distinct scales with acceptable internal consisten cy (alpha ranging from .68 to .94) and a stable factor structure. In t he process of scale development, a fifth style (spontaneous) was ident ified Tests for independence among the five decision-making style scal es and concurrent validity analyses were conducted. Finally, discussio n of the new instrument with reference to the extant literature is pro vided.