Robert N. Heintzelman Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair
The Robert N. Heintzelman Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair was established to promote the understanding and prevention of greed and to foster the development of altruism. The primary purpose of the endowment is to support the chair in conducting basic and applied research to better understand the causes of greed in humankind and determine appropriate methods to eliminate greed.
About the Endowed Chair Fund
The Robert N. Heintzelman Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair was a charitable bequest from the estate of Robert Neil Heintzelman to establish a fund at the University of Central Florida in 2002. A selection committee is appointed by the College of Community Innovation and Education (CCIE) to appoint a key faculty scholar with distinguished reputation to engage in research and scholarly activities that determine the causes of greed and identify methods and strategies of eliminating these causes.
About the Research
Research on the causes of greed is conducted using both basic and applied research.
- Basic research will be conducted in order to define greed and altruism as well as the development of these traits and their impact on child development and adult behavior.
- Applied research will also be conducted to explore strategies that impact the growth of greed, altruism, and ethical behavior, including clinical and educational applications.
Current Research Focus
Given the limited research available to examine the construct of greed, current work is focused on defining greed and measuring this construct through:
- Development of the Heintzelman Greed Scale© (HGS) to measure dispositional greed using instrument development best practices (e.g., American Educational Research Association [AERA], the American Psychological Association [APA], & the National Council on Measurement in Education [NCME, 2014]; Crocker & Algina, 2006; DeVellis, 2017; Dimitrov, 2012; Lambie, Blount, & Mullen., 2017; Wolfe & Smith, 2007).
- Validity studies examining the soundness of the HGS scores with diverse samples in order to test and modify the assessment (e.g., establish evidence of internal consistency reliability and construct, criterion, convergent, and divergent validity).
- Greed studies examining variables contributing to greed.
The endowed chair is held by Glenn Lambie, Ph.D. (2018 to present)
Multidimensional Dispositional Greed Assessment©
Given the limited research examining the construct of greed along with limitations in existing assessments, we developed the Multidimensional Dispositional Greed Assessment (MDGA). The MDGA is designed to measure adults’ dispositional greed. We completed two studies in developing the MDGA: (a) the construction and administration of the MDGA to an initial sample of adults (study 1, exploratory factor analysis [EFA]; N = 875), and (b) the administration of the MDGA to a validating sample of adults (confirmatory factor analysis [CFA]; N = 922) and examining evidence of convergent validity (study 2). The EFA results identified a 21-item MDGA exploratory model, accounting for 73.97% of the variance and encompassing three factors, including (a) Insatiable Pursuit for More at all Costs, (b) Desire for More, and (c) Retention Motivation. The CFA results validated a three-factor oblique 20-item MDGA model, accounting for 59.1% of the variance, and evidence of convergent validity. The MDGA is a promising self-report measure for scholars investigating the construct of dispositional greed.
To request a copy of the MDGA and the assessment training manual, please e-mail Glenn Lambie, Ph.D.
Lambie, G. W., Frawley, C., & Stickl Haugen, J. (2023). Psychometric properties, factor structure, and validity of the multidimensional dispositional greed Assessment with undergraduate college students. Cogent Psychology, 10(1), 2276607. DOI
Lambie, G. W., Stickl Haugen, J., & Tabet, S. M. (2022). Development and initial validation of the Multidimensional Dispositional Greed Assessment (MDGA) with adults. Cogent Psychology, 9(1), DOI
Lambie, G. W., & Stickl Haugen, J. (2019). Understanding greed as a unified construct. Personality and Individual Differences, 141, 31-39. DOI (5-year Impact Factor, 2.390).
Frawley, C., Campbell, L. O., Stickl Haugen, J., & Lambie, G. W. (in review). An investigation of relational correlates of dispositional greed: The role of adult attachment. Current Psychology.
Lambie, G. W., Campbell, L. O., Frawley, C., & Stickl Haugen, J. (in review). Predicting dispositional greed and positive psychology factors: GRIT, resilience, and prosocial behaviors. Discover Psychology.
Campbell, L. O., Lambie, G. W., Stickl Haugen, J, Vizcarra, B., & Cabrera, K. (in review). A global view of analyzing the construct of greed: A scoping review of greed assessment. Personality and Individual Differences.
Lambie, G. W., Frawley, C., Stickl Haugen, J., & Haile, G. M. (in review). College students’ level of dispositional greed and their grit and narcissism scores: A predictability study. Current Psychology.
Lambie, G. W., Haile, G., Tabet, S., & Stickl Haugen, J. (in progress). The relationship between college students’ levels of substance use and their grit, greed, and perceived stress scores.
Lambie, G. W., Frawley. C., & Campbell, L. O. (in progress). Connectedness-related predictors of dispositional greed.
Lambie, G. W., & Frawley, C. (In progress; Data collection phase). Relationship between dispositional greed, perfectionism, and needs satisfaction.
Lambie, G. W., & Frawley, C. (in progress; data-collection and analysis phase). Dispositional greed levels and empathy across differential college student profiles.
Presentations (international and national refereed conferences)
Lambie. G. W., & Frawley, C. (2025, October). An examination of the relationship between dispositional greed and adult attachment among college students. Paper to be presented at the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Conference, Philadelphia, PA.
Lambie, G. W., & Frawley, C. (2025, September). Relational predictors of dispositional greed: The role of workplace belonging and loneliness. Paper to be presented at the Assessment and Research Conference, Daytona Beach, FL.
Lambie, G. W., Cabrera, K., Vizcarra, B., & Frawley, C. (2024, April). Counseling crossroads: A case study of positive psychology traits and greed. Paper presented at the American Counseling Association Conference & Expo, Orlando, FL.
Lambie, G. W., Frawley, C., & Vizcarra, B. (2024, April). The relationship between adult attachment and dispositional greed. Paper presented at the American Counseling Association Conference & Expo, Orlando, FL.
Lambie, G. W., Frawley, C., & Stickl Haugen, J. (2023, September). Psychometric properties, factor structure, and validity of the multidimensional dispositional greed assessment. Paper presented at Assessment and Research Conference, Nashville, TN.
Lambie, G. W., & Frawley, C. (2023). Factor structure and validity of the Multidimensional Dispositional Greed Assessment with undergraduate college students. UCF Research and Impact Showcase, Orlando, FL.
Lambie, G. W., Frawley, C., & Stickl Haugen, J. (2022, September). Understanding the relationship between multidimensional dispositional greed, narcissism, and grit: A predictability study. Paper presented at Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling annual conference, Saint Louis, MO.
Lambie. G. W., & Stickl Haugen, J. (2021, March). Greed: The development and utility of the Heintzelman Greed Scale. Presentation presented at the American Counseling Association Conference, Orlando, FL.
Lambie, G. W., & Stickl Haugen, J. (2019, September). The development and factor structure of the Heintzelman Greed Scale. Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling Conference, San Antonio, TX.