The structural invariance of the Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale across time and culture

Abstract The Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (TEPS) is a self‐report instrument that assesses pleasure experience. Initial scale development and validation in the United States yielded a two‐factor solution comprising anticipatory and consummatory pleasure. However, a four‐factor model that further parsed anticipatory and consummatory pleasure experience into abstract and contextual components was a better model fit in China. In this study, we tested both models using confirmatory factor analysis in an American and a Chinese sample and examined the configural measurement invariance of both models across culture. We also examined the temporal stability of the four‐factor model in the Chinese sample. The results indicated that the four‐factor model of the TEPS was a better fit than the two‐factor model in the Chinese sample. In contrast, both models fit the American sample, which also included many Asian American participants. The four‐factor model fit both the Asian American and Chinese samples equally well. Finally, the four‐factor model demonstrated good measurement and structural invariance across culture and time, suggesting that this model may be applicable in both cross‐cultural and longitudinal studies.