Chapter 10—Measurement and Attitude Scaling
TRUE/FALSE
1. Measurement is the process of describing some property of a phenomenon, usually by assigning
numbers, in a reliable and valid way.
2. A scale can be thought of as a generalized idea that represents something of meaning.
3. Correspondence analysis is the process of identifying scale devices that correspond to properties of a
concept involved in a research process.
4. A construct is a latent concept that is measured with a single variable.
5. An ordinal scale is the simplest type of measurement scale.
6. A measurement scale in which respondents are asked to rank items based on their preferences is called
a nominal scale.
7. The Fahrenheit temperature scale is a ratio scale.
8. Interval scales are able to represent absolute quantities including a meaningful absolute zero.
9. In ratio scales, the location of the zero point is arbitrary.
10. “Money” provides a ratio scale.
11. Concrete measures are those that take on only one of a finite number of values.
12. Continuous measures are those assigning values anywhere along some scale range in a place that
corresponds to the intensity of some concept.
13. Interval scales are considered continuous when three or more categories are used.
14. A measuring instrument is valid when the results can be repeated at subsequent measurements of the
concept.
15. Coefficient beta is the most commonly applied estimate of a composite scale’s reliability.
16. Discriminant validity is another way of expressing internal consistency.
17. Attitudes are thought to have three components: affective, cognitive, and behavioral.
18. Ranking asks the respondent to estimate the magnitude or the extent to which some characteristic
exists.
19. The category scale measures attitude with greater sensitivity than a two-point response scale.
20. Semantic differential scales can be scored using the following values, in order: -3, -2, –1, 0, +1, +2, +3
21. Marketing researchers generally assume that the semantic differential provides interval data.
22. The fractional-point scale demands that respondents divide points among several attributes to indicate
their relative importance.
23. In a graphic rating scale, a respondent’s score is the length in millimeters from one end of the scale to
the point marked on the scale by the respondent.
24. A balanced rating scale has a neutral point, or point of indifference, at the center of the scale.
25. Researchers who support the idea of forced-choice scales essentially argue that the respondents really
do have an attitude toward the items that they are asked about.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. ____ is the process of describing some property of a phenomenon, usually by assigning numbers, in a
reliable and valid way.
a.
Research
b.
Analysis
c.
Validation
d.
Measurement
2. Age, gender, brand loyalty, and corporate culture are all examples of ____.
a.
concepts
b.
scales
c.
ratios
d.
codes
3. ____ definitions translate conceptual definitions into measurement scales.
a.
Summation
b.
Operational
c.
Assessment
d.
Matching
4. Which of the following provides correspondence rules that indicate that a certain value corresponds to
some true value of a concept?
a.
operations
b.
reliability
c.
sensitivity
d.
scale
5. Which of the following refers to concepts measured with multiple variables?
a.
operation
b.
construct
c.
concept
d.
scale
6. Which type of scale is regarded as the highest form of measurement?
a.
nominal scale
b.
ordinal
c.
ratio
d.
interval
7. A person’s weight is best described as being measured on a(n) ____ scale.
a.
ordinal
b.
interval
c.
ratio
d.
nominal
8. Which characteristic is a key difference between ratio and interval scales?
a.
number of items
b.
absolute zero
c.
number of intervals
d.
nominal values
9. All of the following can be measured using ratio scales EXCEPT ____.
a.
gender
b.
income
c.
temperature
d.
weight
10. Measures that can take on only one of a finite number of values are called ____.
a.
discrete measures
b.
neutral measures
c.
limited measures
d.
continuous measures
11. Which of the following is a discrete measure?
a.
nominal scales
b.
sensitive scales
c.
ratio scales
d.
a scale with five values
12. Which type of measure reflects the intensity of a concept by assigning scores that can take on any
value along some scale range?
a.
discrete measure
b.
continuous measure
c.
absolute measure
d.
valid measure
13. A(n) ____ is a single characteristic or fundamental feature of an object, person, situation, or issue.
a.
concept
b.
variable
c.
attribute
d.
construct
14. Which type of measure assigns a value to an observation based on a mathematical derivation of
multiple measures?
a.
conglomerate measure
b.
derivative measure
c.
summated measure
d.
composite measure
15. A researcher is measuring consumers’ attitudes toward product placement in movies using five attitude
items. She created a scale by simply adding up the responses to each item making up the composite
measure. This composite measure is called a(n) ____.
a.
derived scale
b.
additive scale
c.
summated scale
d.
primary scale
16. In ____, the value assigned for a response takes on a value opposite to that normally assigned to the
scale labels.
a.
reverse coding
b.
indexing
c.
alpha coding
d.
convergence
17. Which of the following is an indicator of a measure’s internal consistency?
a.
reliability
b.
validity
c.
coefficient beta
d.
sensitivity
18. A researcher measures the reliability of an instrument by comparing the results of the odd-numbered
questions with the results of the even-numbered questions. What type of reliability is being assessed?
a.
test-retest
b.
split-half
c.
equivalent-forms
d.
criterion
19. When a group of experts agrees that a measuring instrument measures what it is intended to measure,
we say that the instrument has ____ validity.
a.
face
b.
criterion
c.
test-retest
d.
equivalent-forms
20. Which type of validity addresses the question, “Does my measure correlate with measures of similar
concepts or known quantities?”
a.
face validity
b.
reliability validity
c.
criterion validity
d.
discriminant validity
21. Which type of validity is another way of expressing internal consistency?
a.
content validity
b.
convergent validity
c.
criterion validity
d.
discriminant validity
22. Which attitude component represents a person’s awareness and knowledge of the matter?
a.
affective
b.
cognitive
c.
behavioral
d.
personal
23. “I hate asparagus” is an example of which component of an attitude toward asparagus?
a.
affective
b.
behavioral
c.
cognitive
d.
perceptive
24. “I plan to buy a new DVD player sometime in the next three months” is an aspect of which component
of an attitude?
a.
cognitive
b.
affective
c.
behavioral
d.
personal
25. A respondent is given a list of four local shopping malls and asked to put them in order, from the one
he most likes to shop at to the one he least likes to shop at. This is a(n) ____ task.
a.
rating
b.
ranking
c.
sorting
d.
semantic differential
26. A respondent is given a set of 3″ x 5” with the current advertising slogan for a brand or product on
each card. The respondent is asked to place the cards into two piles: one for the slogans that she
recognizes and can name the brand or product and the other for slogans she does not recognize. This is
a ____ task.
a.
rating
b.
ranking
c.
constant-sum
d.
sorting
27. A respondent is asked: “How often, on the average, do you go out to a movie?” and is asked to indicate
her answer by circling one of the following: never, rarely, sometimes, often, or very often. This is best
described as a(n) ____ scale.
a.
semantic differential
b.
Likert
c.
category
d.
constant-sum
28. If researcher wish to compare six brands of HDTVs on the basis of quality, how many paired
comparisons will be necessary?
a.
3
b.
6
c.
15
d.
30
29. In which type of scale is a neutral point, or point of indifference, at the center of the scale?
a.
synergistic
b.
symmetrical
c.
unbalanced
d.
balanced
30. When a respondent is asked whether he agrees, disagrees, or has no opinion to a series of statements,
what type of scale is being used?
a.
forced choice
b.
Likert
c.
semantic differential
d.
non-forced-choice
COMPLETION
1. A generalized idea that represents something of meaning is called a(n) ____________________.
2. The process involving identifying scales that correspond to properties of a concept is called
____________________.
3. A scale that arranges objects so that they are equally-distant from one another is called a(n)
____________________ scale.
4. A(n) ____________________ scale has an absolute zero point.
5. Measures that take on only one of a finite number of values are called ____________________
measures.
6. Measures that assign values anywhere along some scale range in a place that corresponds to the
intensity of some concept are called ____________________ measures.
7. ____________________ validity represents the uniqueness or distinctiveness of a measure.
8. The ability of a scale to measure the variability of a concept is called ____________________.
9. An enduring disposition to respond consistently to an aspect of the world is called a(n)
____________________.
10. The component of attitude that represents the action associated with a certain type of attitude is the
____________________ component.
11. A(n) ____________________ scale measures attitudes by using seven-point rating scales that are
anchored at either end by polar opposite adjectives.
12. When respondents are asked to divide up a fixed number of points to indicate the relative importance
of features on a new car, a(n) ____________________ scale is being used.
13. The happy-sad face technique, often used with children, is a(n) ____________________ rating scale.
14. A fixed-alternative rating scale with an equal number of both positive and negative categories and a
neutral point in the middle of the scale is called a(n) ____________________ scale.
15. Attitudes are measured with a(n) ____________________ approach by taking belief scores assessed
with some type of rating scale and multiplying each belief score by an evaluation also supplied using
some type of rating scale, and then summing each resulting product.
ESSAY
1. Compare and contrast the four different levels of scale measurement.
2. Explain how indexes or composite measures are formed.
3. What is reliability and how is it assessed?
4. Define attitude and describe the three components that comprise it.
5. Explain how a researcher uses the paired comparison method and determine the number of paired
comparisons necessary to compare four brands.
