Abstract
When constructs are positive in nature, individuals rating a set ofthem in terms of importance tend to end-pile their ratings toward thepositive end of the scale, resulting in little differentiation amongthe items rated. Results of two experiments indicate that a procedurewhere respondents first pick their most and least important items in aset and then rate the entire set of items (least-most) and aprocedure where respondents rank the items prior to rating(rank-then-rate) provide more differentiation and lessend-piling than a simple rating procedure (rate-only). Theresults also show that the increased differentiation for the least-mostmethod results in improved fit of latent structure, compared to arate-only procedure. These results generalize across two types ofpersonal values scales (Rokeach Value Survey and Kahle's List of Valuesscale), number of items rated (9 and 18) and number of rating points (1to 10 and 0 to 100).
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alwin, Duane F., and Jon A. Krosnick. (1985). “The Measurement of Values in Surveys: A Comparison of Ratings and Rankings.” Public Opinion Quarterly 49, 535–552.
Beatty, Sharon E., Lynn R. Kahle, Pamela Homer, and Shekhar Misra. (1985). “Alternative Measurement Approaches to Consumer Values: The List of Values and the Rokeach Value Survey.” Psychology and Marketing 2, 181–200.
Bentler, Peter M. (1993). EQS Structural Equations Program Manual. Los Angeles: BMDP Statistical Software.
Bentler, Peter M., and Douglas G. Bonett. (1980). “Significance Tests and Goodness of Fit in the Analysis of Covariance Structures.” Psychological Bulletin 88, 588–606.
Crosby, Lawrence A., Mary Jo Bitner, and James D. Gill. (1990). “Organizational Structure of Values.” Journal of Business Research 20, 123–134.
Grunert, Suzanne C., Klaus G. Grunert, and Sharon E. Beatty. (1989). “Measuring Personal Values in Consumer Research: The Cross-Cultural Validity of the List of Values.” In Tadeusz Tyxzka and Piotr Gasparski (eds.), Homo Oeconomicus: Presumptions and Facts—Proceedings of the Fourteenth Annual Colloquium of the International Association for Research in Economic Psychology (vol. 17) (pp. 471–487). Kazimierz Dolny, Poland: Polish Academy of Sciences.
Holman, Rebecca. (1984). “A Values and Life Styles Perspective on Human Behavior.” In Robert E. Pitts, Jr. and Arch G. Woodside (eds.), Personal Values and Consumer Psychology (pp. 35–54). Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
Homer, Pamela, and Lynn R. Kahle. (1988). “A Structural Equation Test of the Values-Attitude-Behavior Hierarchy.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 54, 638–646.
Jöreskog, Karl G. (1971). “Simultaneous Factor Analysis in Several Populations.” Psychometrika 36, 409–426.
Kahle, Lynn R. (ed.). (1983). Social Values and Social Change: Adaptation to Life in America. New York: Praeger.
Kahle, Lynn R., Sharon E. Beatty, and Pamela Homer. (1986). “Alternative Measurement Approaches to Con-sumer Values: The List of Values (LOV) and Values and Life Style (VALS).” Journal of Consumer Research 13, 405–409.
Kamakura, Wagner A., and Jose Afonso Mazzon. (1991). “Value Segmentation: A Model for the Measurement of Values and Value Systems.” Journal of Consumer Research 18, 208–218.
Kamakura, Wagner A., and Thomas P. Novak. (1992). “Value-System Segmentation: Exploring the Meaning of LOV.” Journal of Consumer Research 19, 119–132.
Kennedy, Patricia, Roger J. Best, and Lynn R. Kahle. (1989). “An Alternative Method of Measuring Value-Based Segmentation and Advertising Positioning.” In James H. Leigh and Claude R. Martin (eds.), Current Issues and Research on Advertising (pp. 139–155). Ann Arbor: Division of Research, University of Michigan Business School.
Krosnick, Jon A., and Duane F. Alwin. (1988). “A Test of the Form-Resistant Correlation Hypothesis.” Public Opinion Quarterly 52, 526–538.
Linville, Patricia W., Peter Salovey, and Gregory W. Fischer. (1986). “Stereotyping and Perceived Distributions of Social Characteristics: An Application to Ingroup-Outgroup Perception.” In John F. Dovidio and Samuel L. Gaertner (eds.), Prejudice, Discrimination, and Racism (pp. 165–207). New York: Academic Press.
McDonald, Roderick P., and Herbert W. Marsh. (1990). “Choosing a Multivariate Model: Noncentrality and Goodness of Fit.” Psychological Bulletin 107, 247–255.
Munson, J. Michael. (1984). “Personal Values: Considerations on Their Measurement and Application to Five Areas of Research Inquiry.” In Robert E. Pitts, Jr. and Arch G. Woodside (eds.), Personal Values and Consumer Psychology (pp. 13–33). Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
Munson, J. Michael, and Shelby H. McIntyre. (1979). “Developing Practical Procedures for the Measurement of Personal Values in Cross-Cultural Marketing.” Journal of Marketing Research 16, 48–52.
Novak, Thomas P., and Bruce MacEvoy. (1990). “On Comparing Alternative Segmentation Schemes: The List of Values (LOV) and Values and Life Styles (VALS).” Journal of Consumer Research 17, 105–109.
Rokeach, Milton. (1973). The Nature of Human Values. New York: Free Press.
Schwartz, Shalom H., and Wolfgang Bilsky. (1990). “Toward a Theory of Universal Content and Structure of Values: Extensions and Cross-Cultural Replications.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 58, 878–891.
Shrum, L. J., and John A. McCarty. (In press). “Issues Involving the Relationships Between Personal Values and Consumer Behavior: Theory, Methodology, and Application.” In Lynn R. Kahle and Larry Chiagouris (eds.), Values, Lifestyles, and Psychographics. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Shrum, L. J., John A. McCarty, and Tamara L. Loeffler. (1990). “Individual Differences in Value Stability: Are We Really Tapping True Values?” In Marvin E. Goldberg, Gerald Gorn, and Richard W. Pollay (eds.), Advances in Consumer Research (vol. 17) (pp. 609–615). Provo: Association for Consumer Research.
Wyer, Robert S., Jr., Galen V. Bodenhousen, and Theresa F. Gorman. (1985). “Cognitive Mediators of Reactions to Rape.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 48, 324–338.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
MCCARTY, J., SHRUM, L.J. Measuring the Importance of Positive Constructs: A Test of Alternative Rating Procedures. Marketing Letters 8, 239–250 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007918705434
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007918705434