Chapter Twelve Attitude Scale Measurements Used In Survey

Chapter Twelve Attitude Scale Measurements Used In Survey Research Copyright © 2006 Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin

Learning Objectives 1. Discuss what an attitude is and its three components. 2. Design Likert, semantic differential and behavior intention scales, and explain their strengths and weaknesses. 3. Discuss the differences between noncomparative and comparative scale designs as well as the appropriateness of rating and ranking scale measurements. 4. Identify and discuss the critical aspects of consumer attitudes and other marketplace phenomena that require measurement to allow us to make better decisions. 5. Discuss the overall rules of measurement and explain the differences between single versus multiple measures of a construct as well as direct versus indirect measures. Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin 2

Nature of Attitudes and Marketplace Behaviors Discuss what an attitude is and its three components. Identify and discuss the critical aspects of consumer attitudes • Marketers Need to Better Understand Their Customer • Attitude – learned predisposition to act in a consistent positive or negative way to a given object, idea, or set of information • Components of Attitudes – Cognitive – Affective Component – Behavioral (Conative) Component Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin 3

Exhibit 12. 1 Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin Design Likert, semantic differential and behavior intention scales, and explain their strengths and weaknesses 4

Scales to Measure Attitudes and Behaviors Design Likert, semantic differential and behavior intention scales, and explain their strengths and weaknesses • Likert Scale – an ordinal scale format that asks respondents to indicate the extent to which they agree or disagree with a series of mental belief or behavioral belief statements about a given object • Scale format – balanced between agreement and disagreement scale descriptors Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin 5

Scales to Measure Attitudes and Behaviors • Design Likert, semantic differential and behavior intention scales, and explain their strengths and weaknesses Series of Hierarchical Steps for Developing a Likert Scale 1. Step 1: Identify and understand the concept to be studied 2. Step 2: Assemble a large number of belief statements (e. g. 50 to 100) 3. Step 3: Subjectively classify each statement as having either a “favorable” or “unfavorable” relationship to the specific attitude under investigation. Then the entire list of statements is pretested (e. g. through a pilot test) using a sample of respondents Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin 6

Scales to Measure Attitudes and Behaviors Design Likert, semantic differential and behavior intention scales, and explain their strengths and weaknesses 4. Step 4: Respondents decide the extent to which they either agree or disagree with each statement, using the intensity descriptors “strongly agree, ” “not sure, ” “disagree, ” “strongly disagree. ” Each response is then given a numerical weight , such as 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. For assumed favorable statements, a weight of 5 would be given to a “strongly agree” response; for assumed unfavorable statements, a weight of 5 (book has a 5 but should be 1) would be given to a “strongly disagree” response 5. Step 5: A respondent’ overall-attitude score is calculated by the summation of the weighted values associated with the statements rated Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin 7

Scales to Measure Attitudes and Behaviors Design Likert, semantic differential and behavior intention scales, and explain their strengths and weaknesses 6. Step 6: Only statements that appear to discriminate between the high and low total scores are retained in the analysis. One possible method is a simple comparison of the top (or highest) 25 percent of the total mean scores with the bottom (or lowest) 25 percent of total mean scores 7. Step 7: In determining the final set of statements (normally 20 to 25, statements that exhibit the greatest differences mean values between the top and bottom total scores are selected 8. Step 8: Using the final set of statements, steps 3 and 4 are repeated in a full study Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin 8

Scales to Measure Attitudes and Behaviors • Design Likert, semantic differential and behavior intention scales, and explain their strengths and weaknesses Likert Scale Extensively Modified 1. Initially, five scale descriptors were used– Strongly agree, Agree, Neither agree nor disagree, Disagree, and Strongly disagree 2. Modified Likert scale expands this set to a six-point forced choice format or a seven-point free-choice format 3. Many researchers treat the Likert Scale Format as an Interval Scale Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin 9

Scales to Measure Attitudes and Behaviors Design Likert, semantic differential and behavior intention scales, and explain their strengths and weaknesses 4. Characteristics of the Likert scale • It is the only summated rating scale that uses a set of agreement/disagreement scale descriptors • It measures only cognitive-based or specific behavioral beliefs • It does not measure intensity levels of affective or behavioral (conative) components • Best utilized for self-administered surveys, or personal interviews, or most online methods to collect the data • It can be used to identify and assess personal or psychographic (life style) traits of individuals Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin 10

Exhibit 12. 2 Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin Design Likert, semantic differential and behavior intention scales, and explain their strengths and weaknesses 11

Scales to Measure Attitudes and Behaviors Design Likert, semantic differential and behavior intention scales, and explain their strengths and weaknesses • Semantic Differential Scale – unique bipolar ordinal scale format that captures a person’s attitudes and/or feelings about a given object Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin 12

Exhibit 12. 3 Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin Design Likert, semantic differential and behavior intention scales, and explain their strengths and weaknesses 13

Scales to Measure Attitudes and Behaviors Design Likert, semantic differential and behavior intention scales, and explain their strengths and weaknesses • Different formats for the semantic differential scale format – Randomize the positive and negative pole descriptors • Halo effect bias – Lack of extreme magnitude expressing in the pole descriptors – Use of non-bi-polar descriptors to represent the poles • Matching standardized intensity descriptors to pole descriptors Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin 14

Exhibit 12. 4 Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin Design Likert, semantic differential and behavior intention scales, and explain their strengths and weaknesses 15

Exhibit 12. 5 Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin Design Likert, semantic differential and behavior intention scales, and explain their strengths and weaknesses 16

Exhibit 12. 6 Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin Design Likert, semantic differential and behavior intention scales, and explain their strengths and weaknesses 17

Scales to Measure Attitudes and Behaviors Design Likert, semantic differential and behavior intention scales, and explain their strengths and weaknesses • Behavior Intention Scale – a special type of rating scale designed to capture the likelihood that people will demonstrate some type of predictable behavior intent toward purchasing an object or service in a future time frame Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin 18

Exhibit 12. 7 Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin Design Likert, semantic differential and behavior intention scales, and explain their strengths and weaknesses 19

Exhibit 12. 8 Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin Design Likert, semantic differential and behavior intention scales, and explain their strengths and weaknesses 20

Scales to Measure Attitudes and Behaviors Design Likert, semantic differential and behavior intention scales, and explain their strengths and weaknesses • Strengths and Weaknesses of Attitude and Behavior Intention Scale Measurements – To Capture People’s Attitudes and Behaviors– scale measurements are used but there is no one “guaranteed” best approach • Data should be considered to be stable insights rather than as true facts • Behavior intentions are probably the most important area to examine • Behavior can be explained, directly or indirectly, by measuring both the cognitive and affective elements of the consumers’ attitudes Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin 21

Exhibit 12. 9 Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin Design Likert, semantic differential and behavior intention scales, and explain their strengths and weaknesses 22

Scales to Measure Attitudes and Behaviors Discuss the differences between noncomparative and comparative scale designs • Other Types of Comparative and Noncomparative Scale Formats – Noncomparative Rating Scale–scale format that requires a judgment without reference to another object, person, or concept – Comparative Rating–scale format that requires a judgment comparing one object, person, or concept against another on the scale Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin 23

Scales to Measure Attitudes and Behaviors Discuss the differences between noncomparative and comparative scale designs • Methods – Graphic Rating Scales • (also referred to as continuous rating scales) use a scale point format that presents a respondent with some type of graphic continuum as the set of possible raw responses to a given question. – Performance Rating Scales • uses an evaluative scale point format that allows the respondents to express some type of postdecision or behavior evaluative judgment about an object. Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin 24

Exhibit 12. 10 Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin Discuss the differences between noncomparative and comparative scale designs 25

Scales to Measure Attitudes and Behaviors Discuss the differences between noncomparative and comparative scale designs • Rank-Order Scales – allow respondents to compare their responses to each other by indicating their first preference and so forth until all the desired responses are placed in rank order • Paired-Comparison Scales – creates a pre-selected group of traits, product characteristics, or features that are paired against one another into two groups; respondents are asked to select which pair is more important to them Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin 26

Scales to Measure Attitudes and Behaviors Discuss the differences between noncomparative and comparative scale designs • Constant Sum Scales– – require the respondents to allocate a given number of points, usually 100, among several attributes or features based on their importance to the individual; this format requires a person to evaluate each separate attribute or feature relative to all the other listed ones • Most appropriate in self-administered surveys • Requires a lot of mental energy on the part of the respondent Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin 27

Scales to Measure Attitudes and Behaviors Discuss the overall rules of measurement and explain the differences between single versus multiple measures of construct and direct versus indirect measures • When to Use Single-item or Multiple-item Scales – Single-Item Scale Design • when the data requirements focus on collection data about only one attribute of the object or construct being investigated – Multiple-item Scale Design • to measure the object or construct of interest, will have to measure several items simultaneously rather than measuring just one item. – Formative composite scale – Reflective composite scale Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin 28

Scales to Measure Attitudes and Behaviors Discuss the overall rules of measurement and explain the differences between single versus multiple measures of construct and direct versus indirect measures • Decision to Use a Single-item versus Multiple-item Scale – made in the construct development state • Two factors – Must assess the dimensionality of the construct under investigation – Must deal with the reliability and validity issues of the scales used to collect data Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin 29

Recap of Key Measurement Design Issue Discuss the overall rules of measurement and explain the differences between single versus multiple measures of construct and direct versus indirect measures • Construct Development Issues – Constructs should be clearly defined – Avoid double-barreled sub-dimensions • Scale Measurement Issues – All necessary instructions for both respondent and interviewer should be part of the scale measurement setup – Use clear wording and avoid ambiguity – Avoid “leading” phrases or words – Make sure the items are phrased unidimensionally – Make sure the descriptors are relevant to the type of data being sought Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin 30

Scales to Measure Attitudes and Behaviors Discuss the overall rules of measurement and explain the differences between single versus multiple measures of construct and direct versus indirect measures • Screening Questions – Use screens before questioning – To identify qualified respondents • Skip Question – Avoid if possible – Instruction must be clearly communicated • Ethical Responsibility of the Researcher – Develop and use the most appropriate scale – Avoid bias Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin 31

Summary • Value of Attitude Measurement in Information Research • The Nature of Attitudes and Marketplace Behaviors • Scales to Measure Attitudes and Behaviors Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin 32

The End Copyright © 2006 Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin 33