A five-item, seven-point semantic differential scale measuring a person's overall attitude toward reading, with an emphasis on its perceived benefits and importance. Items address the personal benefit of reading, the respondent's general opinion of reading, its character-building potential, its worth as a time investment, and its overall importance. Developed by the authors for use in Study 2 of a six-study investigation into how consumers' reliance on their feelings as information affects judgment and decision making. Reading was used as the focal activity to create a domain in which participants would have pre-existing attitudes amenable to experimental manipulation.
7-point semantic differential; note mixed anchor polarity across items — see notes
Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.
IMPORTANT — MIXED ANCHOR POLARITY: Items 1, 2, 4, and 5 present the positive reading attitude anchor first (left/low score), while item 3 presents the negative anchor first ('Reading would not make me a better person' at the low end, 'Reading would make me a better person' at the high end). This means item 3 must be reverse-scored before aggregating scale scores so that all items point in the same direction. High scores on items 1, 2, 4, and 5 indicate less favourable attitudes; high scores on item 3 (before reversing) indicate more favourable attitudes. Researchers should verify scoring direction carefully before use. No formal validity assessment was reported. The scale was used as a covariate in an experimental study rather than as a primary outcome measure.
Avnet, T., Pham, M.T., & Stephen, A.T. (2012). Consumers' trust in feelings as information. Journal of Consumer Research, 39(4), 720-735.
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