VALUES IN ADVERTISING RESEARCH - A METHODOLOGICAL CAVEAT

In a recent issue of JAR, Durgee, O'Connor, and Veryzer present a pote ntially highly useful method for integrating ''values'' into advertisi ng strategy. Unfortunately, their unorthodox method of measuring value s leads to two problems common not only in advertising research but in all behavioral research-the reliance on instruments of unproven valid ity and incommensurability across those ad hoc instruments. Instead, r esearchers should rely on instruments of known validity and reliabilit y, such as the Rocheach Value Survey (RVS) or Kahle's List of Values ( LOV), both of which have been used widely in the effort to develop som e cumulative knowledge on values and consumer behavior.