The Need for Activity

Abstract

A scale designed to measure the need for activity was developed. Within the 3M Model, the construct is conceptualized as a compound trait representing the extent to which an individual is chronically active doing things. Across five studies, the trait was found to meet three of the four criteria for a compound trait. Meeting criteria one and two, the three-item scale is unidimensional and has good internal reliability. Consistent with criterion 3, a combination of elemental traits accounts for substantial variance in the construct. Based upon criterion 4, however, the construct was found to have difficulties. Across ten different traits, the need for activity revealed no evidence of accounting for variance in addition to that of the elemental traits. Only for measures of task orientation and job resourcefulness were the results consistent with criterion 4. Future research will be required to assess whether the need for activity will prove useful as a construct in hierarchical models designed to predict situational and surface traits within a consumer behavior context.