Be Our Guest: The Development of the Interpersonal Hospitality Scale

J Pers Assess. 2023 Mar-Apr;105(2):203-214. doi: 10.1080/00223891.2022.2052302. Epub 2022 Apr 4.

Abstract

Despite the ubiquity of hosting others in one's home, no validated measure of domestic hospitality currently exists. To address this gap, the current paper presents a set of four studies that develop and validate the Interpersonal Hospitality Scale, which seeks to capture the affective, motivational, and behavioral components of this person-place construct. The 12-item scale assesses three core dimensions: responsibility for guests, welcomingness, and a lack of perceived imposition. The analyses reported here provide support for the psychometric adequacy of this new scale, demonstrating strong internal reliability and a consistent factor structure. Moreover, this trait was found to be a unique predictor of several theoretically related constructs, including one's desired home ambiance, attitudes toward immigration, and willingness/likelihood of hosting others in need. This scale offers a much-needed means of measuring one important aspect of how people conceptualize their home environment relative to others.

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Psychometrics
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Social Behavior*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires