Audience Intention Cue (Communal vs. Exchange)

What it measures

A six-item semantic differential scale measuring whether a community's members are perceived as acting with selfish, exchange-oriented motivations versus benevolent, communal, and other-serving motivations. Higher scores indicate more communal orientation.

Response format

7-point semantic differential

Scale items

• a selfish intent / a benevolent intent
• what they can get out of the group / what they could give to others in the group
• caring for themselves / caring for others
• helping themselves / helping each other
• learning from others / connecting with others
• exchanging insider information / providing support and encouragement

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

Usage notes & scoring

Single alpha: α = .87 — Harmeling et al. (2021, Study 4 pretest; n = 101 MTurk). Used as manipulation check. Companion to Perceived Email Sender Identity (ESID, ID 2095).

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Harmeling, Colleen M., Martin Mende, Maura L. Scott, and Robert W. Palmatier (2021). Marketing through the eyes of the stigmatized. Journal of Marketing Research, 58(2), 223–245.

Keywords