Stay positive, attitude is everything Attitude measurement
Content slide Concept of Attitude Different types of Attitude Measurement of Attitude Procedure for Measuring Attitude Conclusion
Concept of attitude the way that you think, feel or behave In psychology, attitude is a psychological construct, a mental and emotional entity that inheres in or characterizes a person. They are complex and are an acquired state through experiences. Attitudes are evaluative statements – either favorable or unfavorable. Attitudes are the feelings and beliefs a person has towards a particular objects, thing, place, events or another person. Is a tendency to read positively or negatively in regard to an object.
Different types of attitudes There are 2 types of Attitudes which will define the attitude of the person, which is given as below: Positive Attitude :- A positive attitude is a state of mind that allows you to envision and expect good things . It does not mean living in denial of the negative situations around you. This attitude allows you to stay optimistic. Negative Attitude :- A negative attitude is a disposition, feeling, or manner that is not constructive, cooperative, or optimistic .
Measurement of attitude Core Definition:- An attitude measurement survey is a study, on a properly drawn sample, of a specified population to find out what people in that population feel about a specified issue . Explanatory context:- Attitude surveys usually use carefully constructed, standardized questionnaires.
Procedure of measuring attitude There are three scales which have been developed to measure aptitudes. Each of these scales is based upon different assumptions and follows different procedures in its construction. The three scales are as given below:- Likert Scale : Likert scaling is an attitude scaling method in which respondents indicate the extent of their agreement with each item on a scale (e.g., a five- or-seven point scale). Their score on the scale is the sum of the scores for each item. Thurstone Scale : A Thurstone scale is an attitude scale consisting of items (in the form of statements) with which the respondent has either to agree or disagree. Guttman Scale : Guttman attitude scales involve the researcher constructing a set of hierarchical statements relating to the concept under investigation. These statements should reflect an increasing intensity of attitude. The point at which the respondent disagrees with a statement reflects the respondent’s scale position.
Likert scale The summated rating scale, more commonly known as the Likert Scale, is based upon the assumption that each statement on the scale has equal attitudinal value, importance or weight in terms of reflecting an attitude towards the issue in question. This assumption is also the main limitation of this scale, as statements on a scale seldom have equal attitudinal value. Likert scales may not always be unidimensional but the approach basically assumes a single dimension. It has been argued that analysis of a Likert scale could identify clusters that are indicative of a number of dimensions, although this is much weaker than the multi-dimension identification claimed for Guttman scaling.
Consideration in constructing a likert scale In developing a Likert Scale , there are a number of things to consider. Firstly , decide whether the attitude to be measured is to be classified into one-two or three directional categories (i.e., whether you want to determine positive, negative or neutral positions in the study population) with respect to their attitude towards the issue under study. Next , consider whether you want to use categories or a numerical scale. This should depend upon whether categories. The decision about the number about the number of points or the number of categories on a categorical scale depends upon how finely you want to measure the intensity of the attitude in question and on the capacity of the population to make fine distinction.
An example of seven – point numerical scale
An example of categorical scale
Thurstone scale The Thurstone scale measures a respondent's attitude by using a series of “agree-disagree” statements of various weights . The weight (equivalent to the median value) for each statement is calculated on the basis of ratings assigned to a statement by a group of judges. Each statement with which respondents express agreement (or which they respond in the affirmative) is given an attitudinal score equivalent to the attitudinal value of the statement.
Process of constructing thurstone scale Step 1 : Assemble or construct statements reflective of attitudes towards the issue in question. Step 2 : Select a panel of judges who are experts in the field of the attitudes being explored. Step 3 : Send the statements to these judges with a request to rate of each statement’s importance in reflecting an attitude towards the issue being studied. Ask them to rate each statement on an 11 point scale. Step 4 : Calculate the median value of these judges rating for each item. Step 5 : If the judges ratings of any item are scattered over the scale, this indicates that, even among the experts, there is no agreement as to the degree to which that statement reflects an attitude towards the issue in question. Discard such statements. Step 6 : From the remaining statements select items that best reflect attitudes towards various aspects of the issue. Step 7 : Construct a questionnaire/interview schedule comprising the selected items.
Guttam scale The Guttman or “cumulative” scale measures how much of a positive or negative attitude a person has towards a particular topic . The Guttman scale is one of the three major types of unidimensional measurement scales. The other two are the Likert Scale and the Thurstone Scale . A unidimensional measurement scale has only one dimension. Guttman scale is one of the three unidimensional scales, the other two being – Likert Scale and Thurstone Scale. Guttman scale also called cumulative scaling or Scalo gram analysis is created with elements that can possibly be ordered in a hierarchical manner. It is representative of the extreme “attitude” of respondents, i.e. extremely positive or negative, about the subject in-hand.
In other words In other words, it can be represented by a number range, like 0 to 100 lbs or “Depressed from a scale of 1 to 10”. By giving the test, a numerical value can be placed on a topic or factor. The scale has YES/NO answers to a set of questions that increase in specificity. The idea is that a person will get to a certain point and then stop. For example, on a 5-point quiz, if a person gets to question 3 and then stops, it implies they do not agree with questions 4 and 5. If one person stops at 3, another at 1, and another at 5, the three people can be ranked along a continuum.
Example This one quizzes for possible gaming addiction