Measurement of Attitudes

Abstract

As the attitude concept is integral to many theories across the social sciences the measurement of attitudes has long been an important topic of research. Over the years, a variety of different attitude measurement techniques have been developed, all of which rely on their own theoretical rationale and methodological characteristics. Generally speaking, these testing procedures can be categorized into one of three fundamentally different families: direct, indirect, and physiological. Media psychologists should be aware of the theoretical and methodological differences between these families of attitude measurement, acknowledge their strengths and weaknesses, and deal with the theoretical complexities associated with relying on a particular approach.