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Dispositional Materialism Questionnaire Test

Completed in about 2 minutes, the Dispositional Materialism Questionnaire Test uses 9 questions to explore attitudes toward ownership, comparison with others, and accumulation. Your result can clarify patterns across possessiveness, envy, greed, and the overall profile, supporting focused self-reflection about personal priorities.

Questions: 92 minutes

Dispositional Materialism Questionnaire Test: situation and reply bubbles

October 2, 2025October 2, 2025Material has been updatedOctober 2, 2025Material has been published

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1,713 completions

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Daniel Hall Psychologist · Test reviewer

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Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

PossessivenessP

Measures how strongly a person wants to own, keep, and control material possessions and emphasize property rights.

example score5/12

5/12Low possessivenessexample score

3 – 6Low possessiveness

7 – 10Moderate possessiveness

11 – 12High possessiveness

A score of 5 falls in the Low possessiveness range, suggesting a relatively mild drive to own and tightly control material possessions.

EnvyE

Measures the tendency to feel dissatisfaction or resentment about others’ material success and to make wealth-based social comparisons.

example score9/12

9/12High envyexample score

3 – 5Low envy

6 – 8Moderate envy

9 – 12High envy

A score of 9 falls in the High envy range, suggesting a stronger tendency to feel discontent when comparing your material situation to others’ perceived wealth.

GreedG

Measures the tendency to accumulate possessions and be reluctant to share material resources with others.

example score8/12

8/12Moderateexample score

3 – 6Low

7 – 10Moderate

11 – 12High

A score of 8 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a noticeable but not extreme tendency toward accumulating and holding on to possessions.

General MaterialismGM

Measures the overall strength of materialistic values and the tendency to prioritize owning and accumulating material goods.

example score25/36

25/36Moderateexample score

9 – 17Low

18 – 26Moderate

27 – 36High

A score of 25 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a noticeable but not dominant emphasis on material goals and possessions.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Self-improvement seekers

41%OF USERS

People curious about their values take it to see how strongly possessions, money, and status shape their choices and happiness.

Counselors and coaches

34%OF USERS

Helping professionals use it to understand a client’s motivation, spending habits, and value conflicts to guide goal-setting and behavior change.

HR and team leads

25%OF USERS

Workplace decision-makers take it to anticipate what rewards and incentives motivate people and how material values may affect team dynamics.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Shaded area — where most people score

Dot — the average

You — your score lands on each curve after the test— your score, after the test

PossessivenessP

You?

Average6.8

Typical rangeTypical5.6 – 8

Possible3 – 12

EnvyE

You?

Average6.6

Typical rangeTypical5.2 – 8

Possible3 – 12

GreedG

You?

Average9.2

Typical rangeTypical7.6 – 10.8

Possible3 – 12

General MaterialismGM

You?

Average26.4

Typical rangeTypical21.4 – 31.3

Possible9 – 36

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

Below is a series of statements describing various thoughts, feelings, and ways of behaving in typical everyday situations. Please indicate the extent to which each statement is characteristic of you. Read each statement carefully and rate your level of agreement using one of the four response options. Please note that there are no good or bad, right or wrong answers.

- Not true
- Probably not true
- Probably true
- True
- Not true
- Probably not true
- Probably true
- True
- Not true
- Probably not true
- Probably true
- True

These are 3 of the 9 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

Dispositional Materialism Questionnaire Test - Description and methodology of the test

values

People who want to examine how possessions shape their feelings, relationships, or priorities may find the Dispositional Materialism Questionnaire Test useful. It offers a brief materialistic values questionnaire for self-reflective readers, helping them reflect on how material priorities shape everyday reactions and relationships. The result is intended to show which aspects of materialistic orientation stand out most clearly for you.

What This Assessment Explores

The questions examine how possessions influence feelings, boundaries, comparisons, and priorities. They cover reluctance to lend, discomfort when others use personal items, distress after loss, attachment to belongings, irritation over other people’s purchases, and feeling worse off. An assessment of materialistic values separates ownership-focused concerns from comparison with others and the desire to accumulate or share.

These three facets and an overall index organize the profile:

Possessiveness (3-12) reflects ownership and control; Low possessiveness 3-6, Moderate possessiveness 7-10, High possessiveness 11-12.
Envy (3-12) reflects dissatisfaction or comparison concerning other people’s material success or wealth; Low envy 3-5, Moderate envy 6-8, High envy 9-12.
Greed (3-12) reflects accumulation and reluctance to share; Low 3-6, Moderate 7-10, High 11-12.
General Materialism (9-36) reflects the overall strength of materialistic values and orientation toward acquiring goods; Low 9-17, Moderate 18-26, High 27-36.

Methodology and Scientific Basis

Each item uses a four-point self-report scale from untrue to true, with intermediate choices such as probably true or somewhat true. It asks for a personal judgment about reactions to possessions, not a performance task, so candid answers are central to the profile.

The result presents three facet scores and an overall materialism index; higher scores may indicate more of the relevant tendency, without assuming that one score explains the whole person. This makes it useful for building a materialism profile that compares ownership, social comparison, and accumulation.

Conceptually, it is consistent with the Dispositional Materialism Questionnaire (Karpinsky & Kiselnikova, 2019), which links materialism with possessiveness, envy, and related dispositional tendencies. This online version is not documented as a direct adaptation of that instrument. Belk’s 1985 work offers a compatible trait framework, including possessiveness, envy, and nongenerosity.

The displayed bands organize scores into Low, Moderate, and High ranges. Because self-reported answers may reflect current circumstances, self-awareness, or social desirability, the score is best read as a reflective profile rather than a diagnosis or stand-alone clinical judgment.

Author: Marsha L. Richins, Scott Dawson

Literature:

Karpinsky, K. V., & Kiselnikova (Volkova), N. V. (2019). The Dispositional Materialism Questionnaire (DMQ): Conceptual Foundations and Psychometric Development. Psychological Journal, 40(1), 104-117. 10.31857/S020595920002256-7
Karpinsky, K. V., & Kiselnikova, N. V. (2022). The Dispositional Materialism Questionnaire. In K. V. Karpinsky, A. M. Kolyshko, & T. V. Parfyonova (Eds.), Modern Methods of Psychological Diagnostics (pp. 143-164). Grodno: Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno. ISBN 978-985-582-500-6
Belk, R. W. (1985). Materialism: Trait Aspects of Living in the Material World. Journal of Consumer Research, 12(3), 265-280. 10.1086/208515

Updated: 2025-10-02