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An Empirical Validation of Bipolar Risk Perception Scaling Methods 1
Author(s) -
Hartenian Linda S.,
Bobko Philip,
Berger Philip K.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1993.tb01091.x
Subject(s) - psychology , perception , rating scale , social psychology , scale (ratio) , cognitive psychology , developmental psychology , physics , quantum mechanics , neuroscience
Bipolar rating scales (e. g., semantic differentials) are a common tool for gathering perceptions about attributes of persons, events, or activities. Researchers have questioned, however, whether individual responses are methodologically constrained when bipolar scales are used. Comparing both bipolar and unipolar scales, the present study investigates previous research findings on perceptions of risk by Fischhoff, Slovic, Lichtenstein, Read, and Combs (1978). The subjects in the current study ( N = 94) rated the same 30 technologies, substances, and activities as in the Fischhoff et al. (1978) study but used unipolar scales. Correlational analysis indicated that some presumed antagonistic adjective pairs were indeed opposites, while others were not. On the other hand, factor analyses indicated that the same factors described by Fischhoff et al. (1978) were uncovered in the present study. However, the use of a unipolar methodology allowed us to refine the interpretations of both factors.