The convergent validity of five dispositional greed scales. (1st September 2018) - Mussel, Patrick
Abstract: The financial crisis in 2008 and 2009 has sparked considerable interest among researchers in individual differences in greed. Recently, five scales have been independently developed to assess the construct of trait greed. Definitions of greed underlying these scales have a lot in common, but also deviate regarding some important aspects. In the current study, we investigated the convergent validity of these scales. We found that, despite the conceptual differences, these scales converged on a common latent factor. Moreover, evidence regarding reliability, construct- and criterion-related validity support the notion that the five scales are largely similar and, in general, well suited to assess the targeted construct. We discuss how the conceptual differences between the definitions might reveal insights into the nature of the construct of greed. Graphical abstract: Highlights: Investigates five scales sharing the same name, but having divergent conceptualizations. Found high convergence between these scales. Construct- and criterion-related validities mirror these results. Conceptual differences need to be resolved.