Ad Message Focus (Self vs. Social)

What it measures

A five-item semantic differential scale measuring the perceived orientation of an advertisement's message on a continuum from self-focused to socially-focused framing. Items span individual/family, self-oriented/social-oriented, individual/group, individual/communal, and self/social focus dimensions. Primarily designed as a manipulation check for message framing studies that contrast self-referential versus socially-directed advertising appeals, the scale is applicable wherever the locus of message orientation is a theoretically meaningful variable.

Response format

7-point semantic differential

Scale items

• Focused on the individual / Focused on family
• Self-oriented / Social oriented
• Target the individual / Target the group
• Individual / Communal
• Self-focus / Social focus

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Alpha ranged from .949 to .986 across three uses — Garcia-Collart, Serin & Sinha (2020). VALIDITY: Not discussed. Response scale uses 7 points with each item anchored by a self-focused pole and a socially-focused pole. Scale used as a manipulation check in pretest and main study contexts; high internal consistency across all three administrations. Developed for research on Hispanic identity and health message framing; applicable to other cultural identity and message targeting contexts.

Citation

Garcia-Collart, Tessa, Nuket Serin, and Jayati Sinha (2020). Healthy (in)congruence: When Hispanic identity and self-framed messages increase healthier choices. Journal of Advertising, 49(1), 98–108.

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