Concurrent validity of a measure of innovative cognitive style

Identifying innovative consumer segments remains an important goal for marketers of new products. This article examines the merits of a recently developed marketing oriented scale, called “open processing”, which is purported to measure an individual's openness or cautiousness tendencies with regard to new products, new sensations, new experiences, and information about them. In a test of the scale's concurrent validity, using self reports of new product trail/purchase behavior among female shoppers, the study found open processors to be more innovative than cautious processors, as was predicted. The study also explores the relationships between open processing, innovative behavior, and various demographic variables. Results indicated that (1) open processing is almost as strong a predictor of innovativeness as four commonly used demographic variables combined; and (2) that open processing is an influential moderator of the relationship between demographics and innovative behavior. Internorth, Inc.