Chapter 14 - Attitude Measurement PDF

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LSP700 - Applied Research Chapter 14 - Attitude Measurement November 4, 2018 Attitude - an enduring disposition to consistently respond in a given manner to various aspects of the world Components of attitudes: 1) Affective component - the feelings or emotion toward an object 2) Cognitive component - knowledge and beliefs about an object 3) Behavioural Component - predisposition to actions, intentions, behavioural expectations Attitudes as Hypothetical Constructs ➔ Hypothetical Construct - variables that are not directly observable but are measurable through indirect indicators-- verbal expression or over behaviour ◆ Aka latent constructs or simply constructs ➔ Common Constructs: Job Satisfaction | ORganizational Commitment | Personal Values | Feelings | Role Stress Techniques for Measuring Attitudes ➔ Ranking - requires the respondents to rank order objects in overall performance on the basis of a characteristic or stimulus ➔ Rating - asking the respondent to estimate the magnitude of a characteristic, or quality, that an object possesses by indicating on a scale where he or she would rate an object ➔ Sorting - presenting the respondent with several concepts typed on cards and requiring the respondent to arrange the cards into a number of piles or otherwise classify the concepts ➔ Choice - asking the respondent to choose one alternative from among several alternatives. Assumed that the chosen alternative is preferred over the other Attitude Rating Scale ➔ Simple Attitude Scale - requires that an individual agree/disagree with a statement or respond to a single question. (Basically two categories -- yes or no) ➔ Category Scale - a more sensitive measure than a simple scale in that it can have more than two response categories. (Very Important, Somewhat Important, Not too Important) ➔ Method of Summated Ratings: Likert Scale - respondents indicate their own attitude by checking how strongly they agree or disagree with statements. Popular means for measuring attitudes ➔ Semantic Differential - a series of seven-point rating scales with bipolar adjectives, such as “good” and “bad”, anchoring the ends (or poles) of the scale. (weights assigned to each position on the scale) ➔ Numerical Scales - Scales that have numbers as response options, rather than “semantic space” or verbal descriptions, to identify categories (response positions) (Extremely Dissatisfied 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Extremely Satisfied) ➔ Graphic Rating Scale - a measure of attitude that allows respondents to rate an object by choosing any point along a graphic continuum. (Advantage: Allows the researcher to choose any interval desired for scoring purposes. Disadvantage: There are no standard answers)

Measuring Behavioural Intention

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➔ Behavioural Component - the behavioural expectations (expected future actions) of an individual toward an attitudinal object. ◆ Example: How likely is it that you will purchase a Honda Fit? I definitely will buy | I probably will buy | I might buy | I probably will not buy | I definitely will not buy. ➔ Behavioural Differential - a rating scale instruments similar to semantic differential, developed to measure the behavioural intentions of subjects toward future actions. ◆ A description of the object to be judged is placed on the top of a sheet, and the subjects indicate their behavioural intentions toward this object on a series of scales ◆ Example: A 25 year-old woman sales representative Would ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ Would Not ask this person for advice. Ranking ➔ An ordinal scale may be developed by asking respondents to rank order (from most preferred to least preferred) a set of objects of attributes. ◆ Paired Comparisons - a measurement technique that involves presenting the respondent with two objects and asking the respondent to pick the preferred object; more than two objects may be presented, but comparisons are made in pairs. ◆ Sorting - require that respondents indicate their attitudes or beliefs by arranging items on the basis of perceived similarity or some other attribute

Selecting a Measurement Scale 1. Is a ranking, sorting, rating, or choice technique best?

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Should a monadic or a comparative scale be used? What type of category labels, if any, will be used for the rating scale? How many scale categories or response positions are needed to accurately measure an attitude? Should a balanced or unbalanced rating scale be chosen? Should an even or odd number of response categories be provided? Should a scale that forces a choice among predetermined options be used? Should a single measure or an index measure be used? Monadic Rating Scale - Asks about a single concept in isolation. The respondent is not given a specific frame of reference. Comparative Rating Scale - Asks respondents to rate a concept in comparison with a benchmark explicitly used as a frame of reference. Balanced vs. Unbalanced Rating Scale ◆ Balanced Rating Scale - A fixed-alternative rating scale with an equal number of positive and negative categories; a neutral point or point of indifference is at the center of the scale. ◆ Unbalanced Rating Scale - a fixed-alternative rating scale that has more response categories at one end than the other resulting in an unequal number of positive and negative categories Forced vs. Non-Forced Choice Scale ◆ Forced-Choice - a fixed-alternative rating scale that requires respondents to choose one of the fixed alternatives ◆ Non-Forced Choice - a fixed-alternative rating scale that provides a “no opinion” category or that allows respondents to indicate that they cannot say which alternative is their choice Factors affecting the choice of using a single measure or an index measure: The complexity of the issue to be investigated. | The number of dimensions the issue contains. | Whether individual attributes of the stimulus are part of a holistic attitude or are seen as separate items. | The researcher’s conceptual (problem) definition will be helpful in making this choice.

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