Attitude Measurement

& Scaling Techniques

Attitude Measurement
• Attitudes
• Attitude Components
– Information
– Feelings
– Intended Behaviour
Measurement & Scaling
• The Concept
Primary Scales of Measurement

• Nominal Scale

• Ordinal Scale

• Interval Scale

• Ratio Scale
 Primary Scales of Measurement
Nominal Numbers Finish
Assigned
to Runners 7 8 3

Ordinal Rank Order

of Winners Finish

Third Second First

place place place
Interval Performance
Rating on a
0 to 10 Scale 8.2 9.1 9.6

Ratio Time to
Finish, in
15.2 14.1 13.4
Seconds
 Primary Scales of Measurement
Scale Basic Common Industry Permissible Statistics
Characteristics Examples Examples Descriptive Inferential
Nominal Numbers identify & Social Security nos., Brand nos., store Percentages, Chi-square,
classify objects numbering of football types mode binomial test
players
Ordinal Nos. indicate the Quality rankings, Preference Percentile, Rank-order
relative positions of rankings of teams in rankings, market median correlation,
objects but not the a tournament position, social Friedman
magnitude of class ANOVA
differences between
them
Interval Differences between Temperature Attitudes, opinions, Range, mean, Product-
objects can be (Fahrenheit) index nos. standard moment
compared, zero point Celsius) deviation correlation, t
is arbitrary tests, ANOVA,
regression,
Factor analysis

Ratio Zero point is fixed, Length, weight Age, sales, income, Geometric Coefficient of
ratios of scale values costs mean, harmonic variation
can be compared mean
Scaling Techniques
• Comparative Scales (non-metric) Vs
Non- Comparative Scales (metric)

• Single Item Vs Multi-item Scales

 A Classification of Scaling Techniques
Scaling Techniques

Comparative Non comparative

Scales Scales

Rank Constant Q-Sort and Continuous Itemized

Paired
Order Sum Other Rating Scales Rating Scales
Comparison
Procedures

Semantic Stapel
Likert
Differential
Non-Comparative Rating Scales
• Continuous rating scale : (graphic rating scale) Respondents rate by placing a
mark at appropriate position on a line.
Ex: How would you rate Big Boss as a reality show?
– Best show_____________________________________ worst Show

• Itemized rating scale : The respondents are provided with a scale that has
numbers or a brief description associated with each category

– Likert Scale
– Semantic Differential Scale
– Stapel Scale
• Likert Scale (Summated Scale) : 5-point agreement/ disagreement scale
Ex: How strongly you agree to the following statement:
Petrol prices will touch Rs. 100 per litre in next 2 years
Strongly agree agree Indifferent Disagree Strongly disagree

• Semantic Differential Scale: 7-point scale with end-points associated with

bipolar labels My Brother is : Careful _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Careless

• Stapel Scale: Scale with 10 categories without neutral point

My brother is +5
+4
+3
+2
+1
Careful
-1
-2
-3
-4
-5
Comparative Scaling Techniques:
Paired Comparison Scaling
• A respondent is presented with two objects and asked to
select one according to some criterion.
• The data obtained are ordinal in nature.
• Paired comparison scaling is the most widely used
comparative scaling technique.
• With n brands, [n(n - 1) /2] paired comparisons are required
• Under the assumption of transitivity, it is possible to convert
paired comparison data to a rank order.
 Obtaining Shampoo Preferences
Using Paired Comparisons
Instructions: We are going to present you with five pairs of shampoo
brands. For each pair, please indicate which one of the two brands of
shampoo you would prefer for personal use.
Recording Form:
Clinic Plus Vatika Dove Head & Pert
Shoulders
Clinic Plus 0 0 1 0
Vatika 1a 0 1 0
Dove 1 1 1 1
Head & Shoulders 0 0 0 0
Pert 1 1 0 1
Number of Times 3 2 0 4 1
Preferredb
aA 1 in a particular box means that the brand in that column was preferred over the
brand in the corresponding row. A 0 means that the row brand was preferred over
the column brand. bThe number of times a brand was preferred is obtained by
summing the 1s in each column.
Comparative Scaling Techniques
Rank Order Scaling
• Respondents are presented with several objects
simultaneously and asked to order or rank them according to
some criterion.

• It is possible that the respondent may dislike the brand ranked

1 in an absolute sense.

• Furthermore, rank order scaling also results in ordinal data.

• Only (n - 1) scaling decisions need be made in rank order

scaling.
 Preference for Toothpaste Brands
Using Rank Order Scaling

Instructions: Rank the various brands of toothpaste in order of

preference. Begin by picking out the one brand that you like most
and assign it a number 1. Then find the second most preferred
brand and assign it a number 2. Continue this procedure until you
have ranked all the brands of toothpaste in order of preference. The
least preferred brand should be assigned a rank of 8.
No two brands should receive the same rank number.
The criterion of preference is entirely up to you. There is no right or
wrong answer. Just try to be consistent.
 Preference for Toothpaste Brands
Using Rank Order Scaling
Form
Brand Rank Order
1. Crest _________
2. Colgate _________
3. Meswak _________
4. Dabur Red _________
5. Sansodyne _________

6. Babool _________
7. Close Up _________
8. Pepsodent _________
Comparative Scaling Techniques
Constant Sum Scaling
• Respondents allocate a constant sum of units, such as 100
points to attributes of a product to reflect their importance.

• If an attribute is unimportant, the respondent assigns it zero

points.

• If an attribute is twice as important as some other attribute, it

receives twice as many points.

• The sum of all the points is 100. Hence, the name of the
scale.
 Importance of Bathing Soap Attributes
Using a Constant Sum Scale

Instructions
On the next slide, there are eight attributes of bathing
soaps. Please allocate 100 points among the attributes
so that your allocation reflects the relative importance
you attach to each attribute. The more points an
attribute receives, the more important the attribute is.
If an attribute is not at all important, assign it zero
points. If an attribute is twice as important as some
other attribute, it should receive twice as many points.
 Importance of Bathing Soap Attributes
Using a Constant Sum Scale
Form
Average Responses of Three Segments
Attribute Segment I Segment II Segment III
1. Mildness 8 2 4
2. Lather 2 4 17
3. Shrinkage 3 9 7
4. Price 53 17 9
5. Fragrance 9 0 19
6. Packaging 7 5 9
7. Moisturizing 5 3 20
8. Cleaning Power 13 60 15
Sum 100 100 100
Comparative Scaling Techniques
Q-sort
Guttman Scale
• Some children occasionally require physical restraint when unruly.
( Least extreme )

• Slapping a child's hand is an effective discipline technique.

• Hitting the children on the back is sometimes necessary to control

children.

• Sometimes children require firm discipline with a belt or whip.

• Some children need a regular vigorous beating to keep them in line.

( Most extreme )
Purchase Intent Scale
What is chance of your buying brand X next time
you purchase this product?
• Definitely Buy
• Probably Buy
• Might or Might Not Buy
• Probably Not Buy
• Definitely Not Buy
 Relative Advantages & Disadvantages of
Comparative Scales
Advantages
• Small differences between stimulus objects can be detected.
• Same known reference points for all respondents.
• Easily understood and can be applied.
• Involve fewer theoretical assumptions.
• Tend to reduce halo or carryover effects from one judgment to
another.

Disadvantages
• Ordinal nature of the data
• Inability to generalize beyond the stimulus objects scaled.
• Single-Item Scale
• Multi-Item Scale
Scale Decisions

• No. of scale categories

• Balanced Vs Unbalanced scales
• Odd or Even no. of categories
• Forced Vs Non- Forced scales
• Nature & Degree of verbal description
• Physical form (Configuration) of the scale
Scale Evaluation
• Reliability: Accuracy & precision of measurement scale.
Extent to which scale produces consistent results if
measurements are made repeatedly

• Validity: The extent to which a scale measures what we

actually wish to measure.

• Generalizability: Degree to which data can be generalized

across persons, settings, time, etc.

• Practicability: Ease to administer the scale

Reliability
Type Coefficient What is measured?
Test-Retest Stability Same test is administered twice to
same subjects over an interval of
less than 6 months
Alternative Equivalence Administered simultaneously or
Forms with a delay; Determines the
degree to which alternative forms
of the same measure produce
same or similar results
Split-half, Internal Determines the degree to which
Cronbach’s Consistency instrument items are
alpha homogeneous and reflect same
underlying construct

Methods: Correlation
Validity
Type What is measured? Methods
Content Validity How well content of a scale represents Judgmental
(Face Validity) measurement task at hand?
Criterion Validity Degree to which predictor is adequate in Correlation
capturing relevant aspects of the criterion
Concurrent: Description of the present

Predictive: Prediction of the future

Construct Validity What construct or characteristics the scale is Judgmental
measuring? Correlation
Convergent: Degree to which scale correlates
with other scales
Discriminant: Degree to which a scale does not
correlate with other scales designed to measure
different constructs
Nomological: Degree to which scale correlates in
theoretically predicted ways with measures of
different but related constructs.
Construct Validity
e.g. A multi-item scale is developed to measure tendency to
purchase prestige brands. Theory suggests that this
tendency is caused by three personality variables : low self-
focus, high need for status and high materialism

Evidence of construct validity exist if scale :

(i) Correlates highly with measures like purchases of prestige
brand products (convergent validity)
(ii) Has a low correlation with unrelated constructs like
tendency to purchase new products ( discriminant validity)
(iii) Has a high correlation with need for status and materialism
(nomological validity)
• Generalizability: Degree to which data can
be generalized across persons, settings,
time, etc.

• Practicability: Ease to administer the scale