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Related Experiment Videos

Stretched rating scales cause guided responding.

Bärbel Knäuper1, Christine Stich, Melanie Yugo

  • 1Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada. barbel.knauper@mcgill.ca

Health Communication
|June 24, 2008
PubMed
Summary
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Stretched rating scales, used to measure health risk perceptions, may not accurately capture individual feelings of risk. These scales can guide responses, leading to biased estimates and hindering effective health communication.

Area of Science:

  • Health communication
  • Risk perception research
  • Survey methodology

Background:

  • Decision-making in health policy and practice relies on accurate individual risk perceptions.
  • Health risk perceptions are commonly measured using probability rating scales in surveys.
  • Stretched rating scales, with detailed low-end values, are proposed to enhance small risk estimation accuracy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether stretched rating scales accurately reflect individuals' health risk perceptions.
  • To determine if the detailed numeric values on stretched scales influence response patterns.
  • To assess the validity of risk estimates obtained from stretched rating scales.

Main Methods:

  • Study 1: Compared response distributions and variances between stretched and equal-interval scales.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Study 2: Employed experimental designs to examine guided responding on stretched scales.
  • Utilized survey data to analyze the impact of scale design on risk perception estimates.

    • Main Results:

    • Response distributions on stretched scales were skewed towards lower values with restricted variances compared to equal-interval scales.
    • Experimental evidence indicated that participants' responses on stretched scales were guided by the scale's structure.
    • Scores on stretched scales did not validly represent respondents' actual risk perceptions.

    Conclusions:

    • Stretched rating scales can lead to biased risk estimates by guiding respondents' answers rather than reflecting their perceptions.
    • The use of stretched scales may compromise the accuracy of health risk communication between various stakeholders.
    • Researchers and practitioners should exercise caution when interpreting risk estimates derived from stretched rating scales.