Valuing Others Over Oneself: Development and Validation of a People Pleasing Scale

The colloquial term People Pleasing refers to a tendency to prioritize the needs and goals of others over one’s own needs and goals. Neglecting one’s interests, desires, and duties in favor of others arguably goes along with a manifold of psychological consequences for individuals high in people pleasing. In two preregistered studies (n1 = 571, n2 = 1,323), a 10-item People Pleasing Scale was developed and validated. Study 1 revealed three dimensions of people pleasing, namely, Responsibility, Neglect of Own Needs, and Others’ Expectations. This structure was confirmed in Study 2. Residual measurement invariance across genders was found in both independent datasets. Nomological network analyses revealed that people pleasing, as measured with the People Pleasing Scale, was correlated with yet distinguishable from facets of agreeableness, honesty-humility, emotionality, empathy, and subclinical psychopathy. Furthermore, people pleasing went along with charitable giving in the ultimatum game and the dictator game, and with a social value orientation. The findings underscore the utility of the People Pleasing Scale for scientific and applied purposes. Outlooks for future applications and further validation endeavors are outlined.