THE EVALUATION QUESTION APPROACH - A METHOD OF MEASURING ATTITUDES

This paper presents the Evaluation Question Approach (EQA), which can measure attitudes to social and economic issues within a cognitive-eva luative framework. The basic idea behind the EQA is that verbal evalua tion labels are offered to a respondent who then associates a descript ion or manifestation of the object in question. Instead of supplying s timuli for corresponding sensations, as is the case using psychophysic al methods, the approach being examined does the reverse. It may be se en as the opposite of the vignette technique with which a methodoligic ally-based comparison is made. Verbal labels are studied to see if the y are otherwise interpreted by different respondents. This important s caling problem is applied to a 1983 Boston (USA) data-set of about 500 respondents. The result of this empirical test supports the hypothesi s that there are no interpretation differences. In conclusion, the EQA appears to be a viable general method and can be applied to a variety of subjects in all behavioral sciences.