A psychometric evaluation of a revised version of the Lennox and Wolfe revised self-monitoring scale

Abstract

Self-monitoring has developed over the past decade or so to where it has become an important construct in both psychology and consumer behavior. Even though there is now a considerable literature largely in psychology, concern still remains at both a theoretical and measurement level about this construct. This article attempts to address some of the concerns raised in the literature about measuring self-monitoring. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to explore the robustness and fit of a revision of the Lennox and Wolfe (1984) revised self-monitoring scale and to test differences in variables across respondents' degree of self-monitoring. The findings from a data set of 450 respondents indicate a factor structure similar to that found in previous studies, but with improved reliability and fit to the data. The results were sufficiently strong to warrant continued use of this instrument. The results also indicate significant differences in key consumer behavior variables, consumer confidence, subjective knowledge and concern for image across self-monitoring. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.