The Backup Planning Scale (BUPS): A Brief, Self-Reported Measure of a Person’s Tendency to Develop, Reserve, and Use Backup Plans

Abstract

To mitigate uncertainty in their goal pursuits, people use backup plans, i.e., alternative means that are developed to potentially replace “Plan A.” Several studies have demonstrated that backup plans can introduce unexpected costs into goal pursuits that decrease a person’s motivation to continue using their “Plan A,” and reduce their chances for achieving their goal. These existing studies used time-intensive experimental and/or observational approaches to assess the effects of backup planning. The present research examines the newly-developed Backup Planning Scale (BUPS) for its measurement invariance, reliability, validity, and other psychometric characteristics across three independent samples with more than 1,500 participants. Consistent with prior theorizing, we found support for a nine-item, three factor structure for the BUPS, indexing latent factors for a person’s tendency to develop, reserve, and replace with (or use) backup plans. Furthermore, a novel “IRTree” based statistical technique provided evidence for the validity of the measure, as participants’ responses to the BUPS were associated with their actual developing, reserving, and replacing backup planning behaviors in a logic task. We conclude that the freely-available BUPS is a simple, brief, reliable, and valid self-reported instrument for assessing backup planning behaviors across adulthood.