The lack of reliable measurement tools has delayed the development of psychological research about money and related phenomena. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a Meaning of Money Scale. To develop the scale, preliminary data were collected using a heterogeneous sample of 61 subjects and organised through procedure including content, combinatory, semantic, by judges, and based on social sciences theoretical analysis. This resulted in a 10 factors hypothetical model. The scale was validated in a heterogeneous sample with 1464 subjects from all Brazilian regions. Results pointed to an orthogonal multifactorial structure, separately confirmed to men and women, and composed by 9 components: Cronbach alpha ranged from 0,70 to 0,88 to 6 components, and the others were 0,66, 0,67 and 0,57. Comparing to previous studies, this scale presents advances and generates new possibilities to psychological research about money related subjects.
meaning of money scales; psychology of money; economic psychology