Ch14: ATTITUDE MEASUREMENT Flashcards
attitude
Human consist response in a given manner to various aspects of the world, composed of
affective,
cognitive, and
behavioural components.
attitude - In depth
For social scientists, an attitude is as an enduring disposition to respond consistently to specific aspects of the world, including actions, people, or objects. One way to understand an attitude is to break it down into its components. Consider this brief statement: “Sally likes shopping at Wal-Mart. She believes the store is clean, conveniently located, and has low prices. She intends
to shop there every Thursday.” This simple example demonstrates attitude’s three components: affective, cognitive, and behavioral. The affective component refers to an individual’s general feelings or emotions toward an object. Statements such as “I really like my Corvette,” “I enjoy reading new Harry Potter books,” and “I hate cranberry juice” reflect an emotional character of attitudes. A person’s attitudinal feelings are driven directly by his/her beliefs or cognitions. This cognitive component represents an individual’s knowledge about attributes and their consequences. One person might feel happy about the purchase of an automobile because she believes the car “gets great gas mileage” or knows that the dealer is “the best in New Jersey.” The behavioral component of an attitude reflects a predisposition to action by reflecting an individual’s’ intentions.
hypothetical constructs
Variables that are not directly observable but are measurable through indirect indicators, such as verbal expression or overt behavior.
Attitudes as Hypothetical Constructs - In depth
Business researchers often pose questions involving psychological variables that cannot directly be observed. For example, someone may have an attitude toward working on a commission basis. We cannot actually see this attitude. Rather, we can measure an attitude by making an inference based on the way an individual responds to multiple scale indicators. Because we can’t directly see these phenomena, they are known as latent constructs, hypothetical constructs, or just simply constructs. Common constructs include job satisfaction, organizational
commitment, personal values, feelings, role stress, perceived value, and many more. The Research Snapshot on page 317 talks about measuring love. Is love a hypothetical construct?
List Techniques for Measuring Attitudes
ranking
rating
sorting
choice
List Techniques for Measuring Attitudes
ranking
A ranking task requires the respondent to
rank order a small number of stores, brands, feelings, or objects on the basis of overall preference or some characteristic of the stimulus.
List Techniques for Measuring Attitudes
rating
Rating asks the respondent to estimate the magnitude or the extent to which some characteristic exists. A quantitative score results. The rating task involves marking a response indicating one’s position using one or more attitudinal or cognitive scales
List Techniques for Measuring Attitudes
sorting
A sorting task might present the respondent with several different concepts printed on cards and require the respondent to classify the concepts by placing the cards into groups (stacks of cards).
List Techniques for Measuring Attitudes
choice
Another type of attitude measurement is choice between two or more alternatives. If a respondent chooses one object over another, the researcher assumes that the respondent prefers the chosen object, at least in this setting.
Attitude Rating Scales
- Simple Attitude Scales
- Category Scales
- Method of Summated Ratings: The Likert Scale
- Semantic Differential
- Numerical Scales
- Stapel Scale
- Constant-Sum Scale
- Graphic Rating Scales
- Thurstone Interval Scale
Attitude Rating Scales
1. Simple Attitude Scales
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Attitude Rating Scales
2. Category Scales
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Attitude Rating Scales
3. Method of Summated Ratings: The Likert Scale
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Attitude Rating Scales
4. Semantic Differential
1
Attitude Rating Scales
5. Numerical Scales
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