Do Numeric Values Influence Subjects’ Responses to Rating Scales?
Journal of International Marketing and Marketing Research, Vol. 26, 41-46, 2001
12 Pages Posted: 11 Apr 2014 Last revised: 13 Aug 2014
Date Written: February 1, 2001
Abstract
A study was conducted with a random sample of 139 college students to determine whether using different numbering schemes for rating scales would achieve different results. Two different rating scales, one numbered from 4 to -4 and another numbered from 9 to 1, were employed. The results indicated that the 4 to -4 scales produced more positive evaluations than did the 9 to 1 scales. It appears that a negative number next to the negative-evaluation descriptor, e.g., “awful,” makes the descriptor seem much more negative than when the lowest number on the scale is a 1. This causes a difference in the means and frequency distributions of scales numbered 4 to -4 as compared with using the same scales with numbers ranging from 9 to 1.
Keywords: Rating scales, numerical rating scales, measurement bias, hedonic ratings
JEL Classification: C00, C10, C40, I20
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation