Attitude

1
Attitude
A continuos state of mind which makes the
respondent answer consistently and in a certain
way, when asked about various aspects - either
concerning himself or his surroundings. 3
dimensions Affection general feeling towards
the subject in question Cognition general
knowledge or perception of a subject Behaviour i
ntention and attitude expectations in relation to
a subject Problem not directly
observable
2
Measuring Attitudes

• Indirect measuring by using qualitative
  techniques
• Ranking
• ranks a limited number of variables on the basis
  of qualities or stimulation
• Rating
• expresses the strength in his opinion about the
  qualities of the object
• Sorting
• cards for each of the products are arranged in
  order
• Choice
• a choice is made between 2 alternatives, and the
  alternative which is most frequently chosen
  first, is said to be the preferred choice
• Physiological measures
• skin response, blood pressure, pupil dilation

3
Simple rating scale
How do you evaluate the following characteristics
of the new drinking yogurt? positive negative
no opinion taste 1 2 3 color
1 2 3 consistency 1 2 3
4
Category scale
How often do you go to the Cinema? _
Never _ Rarely _ Sometimes _
Often _ Very often Allow respondent to
indicate the intensity in their attitude
5
Likert scale
1. Exercise is an essential component of a
healthy life-style strongly moderately mildly m
ildly moderately strongly disagree disagree disag
ree agree agree agree 1 2
3 4 5 6 2. Combating drug abuse
should be a top national priority completely mos
tly equally mostly completely true true
true and untrue untrue untrue 1
2 3 4 5 Respondent indicate
agreement or disagreement - weights are assigned
and summed for data analysis
6
Semantic differential Numerical scale

• Semantic differential
• Target stimulus (provocation)
• Adjective pairs representing opposite end of a
  continuum
• bipolar friendly-hostile, unipolar friendly-not
  friendly

• Numerical scale
• Similar to semantic differential scales but
• uses numbers as representatives of options
  instead of lines

7
Semantic differential Numerical scale

• Semantic differential
• How do you see automobile salesmen?
• Honest - Dishonest
• Quiet - Noisy

• Numerical scale
• How do you see automobile salesmen?
• Honest 1 2 3 4 5 Dishonest
• Quiet -2-1 0 1 2 Noisy

8
Constant-sum scale
Distribution of a constant sum (typically 100 or
a sum of money) among a number of
specified options (characteristics
etc.) increasing complexity with increasing
number of options requires experienced
(educated) respondents
9
Constant-sum scale
What do you emphasise when planning your business
flight (divide 100 points among the following
components)? departure and arrival on time
_________ frequent connections _________ service
on board _________ check-in time less than 10
minutes _________
10
Other scales

• stapel scale (direction and intensity - one
  keyword)
• graphic rating scale (e.g. ladder scale or happy
  faces)
• ranking (paired or multiple comparisons)
• sorting (association)

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Ranking
Resp. Brand name no. Yog Yogger Yogo Yoker Whr
oom New Yog 1 5 4 3 2 6 1 2 3 4 1 5 6 2 3 4 1 2 3
6 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3 1 5 4 6 2 40 5 3 6 1 4 2
evaluation of brand name for new drinking yogurt
(ranking)
12
Choice
Resp. Brand name no. Yog Yogger Yogo Yoker Whr
oom New Yog 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 0 1 1 0
0 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
1 1 1 1 1 1 40 0 0 0 0 0 0
evaluation of applicability of brand name for new
drinking yogurt (choice)
13
Thurstone scale
agree disagree 1. Achievin
g success is the only way for my child to repay
my efforts as a parent 1 2 2. Going to a
good college and getting a good job are
important but not essential to my childs
happiness 1 2 3. Happiness has nothing to
do with achieving educational or material
goals 1 2 4. The customarily valued
trappings of success are a hindrance to true
happiness 1 2 Requires comprehensive
(subjective) evaluation of the questions and the
results
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Attitude Scales - see also p. 300

• RATING
• Simple attitude scaling. Ex for, against, dont
  know
• Category scales. Ex never, seldom,some times,
  often, always
• Likert scales ranging from very positive to very
  negative - see.p. 292
• Semantic differential, Ex Modern __ __ __
  __ __ __ __ Old fashioned
• Numerical scales Ex Modern 1 2
  3 4 5 6 7 Old fashioned
• Stapel scales Ex how good is Nyrup? -2 -1 0
  1 2 (one keyword)
• Constant-sum scales, Ex What is your attitude
  towards the following 3 car models. You have 20
  points in total to distribute among the cars VW
  14 Volvo 4 LADA 2
• Graphic rating scale. Ex how good is Nyrup
  -2______2 (or children's happy faces)
• RANKING
• Paired comparison, Ex do you prefer VW to Volvo
  yes - no, do you prefer Volvo to Lada yes - no.
  Do you prefer VW to Lada yes - no

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Balance

• Odd or even numbers of options
• depending on purpose and type of question
• odd allows a neutral appraisal (indifferent)
• even forces respondent to make a commitment

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Considerations for choice of Scales

• Is rating, ranking, choice or sorting preferable
  for this situation ?
• Should Monadic (simple) or Comparative (complex)
  rating scales be used ? P. 303
• Should a Category label be used, and which ?
  (numbers or text?)
• How many response positions? Even or uneven
  number?
• Should the scales be balanced ? (ex 4-options
  with 2 positive and 2 negative options) or
  un-balanced (ex 5 options with 3 positive and 2
  negative options) - balance versus bias
• Forced choice in the scales? - more no-answer
  responds
• Single measurement or Index measure ?