Asking Questions - The Definitive Guide To Questionnaire Design ...

ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS 129
It is beyond the scope of this book to deal in detail with these
models, but it is important to know that explicit measurement
models often provide criteria to help measure attitude. Working
back and forth between pretesting questions and testing responses
against an explicit measurement model can greatly aid in the
development of valid attitude scales. Consult one of the references
listed at the end of the chapter for more information about measurement
models.
Many researchers create scales without properly testing whether
the scales meet statistical criteria for a good scale. Researchers are
well advised to explicitly articulate the measurement model they are
using and to get appropriate statistical consulting advice when they
are in doubt about how to refine and test their scaling procedures.
Asking Behavioral Intention Questions
There is often an assumed relationship between attitudes and behaviors.
That is, people are asked attitude questions about products
because their attitudes might reflect what they buy, and people are
asked their opinions about political candidates because their
answers might reflect how they will vote. When behavior is impossible
to measure, such as when it relates to an unreleased new product
or an upcoming presidential campaign, we often use attitude
measures as a surrogate for behavior.
A basic and frequently useful conceptualization of the attitudebehavior
connection uses the intermediate step of behavioral intentions.
This view basically contends that attitudes are related (to
some extent) to behavioral intentions, and these intentions are, in
turn, related to actual behavior (see Figure 4.3). Certainly there are
a lot of other factors in the equation. In the final analysis, however,
a good predictor of behavior is the consistency of behavioral intentions
and attitudes toward the object.
For instance, respondents’ attitudes toward a soft drink might
be related to their intentions to buy that soft drink within the next
week, and these intentions might be related to actual purchase.