Brand Associations Contradiction

What it measures

A six-item scale measuring the degree to which a consumer perceives a brand's associations as internally contradictory — containing paradoxical, opposing, or inconsistent elements. Items tap the perception of contradiction, paradox, and opposing elements within the brand's identity and image. Developed for research on bicultural consumers and paradox brands — brands that deliberately blend elements from contrasting cultural identities — the scale quantifies the subjective experience of brand-level incongruity.

Response format

9-point Likert (not at all / very much)

Scale items

• There is some contradiction in this brand.
• This brand has contradictory elements.
• This brand is contradictory.
• Some of the elements of this brand seem like opposites.
• There are some opposing elements to this brand.
• This brand is paradoxical.

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

Usage notes & scoring

Single alpha: α = .94 — Rodas, John & Torelli (2021, Study 6 pretest; n = 70 bicultural Qualtrics panel members and 70 monocultural MTurk participants). Response scale: 1 = not at all, 5 = somewhat, 9 = very much. VALIDITY: Not discussed. All six items verified from web appendix A of the original article. Scale labelled 'Perceptions of contradiction' by the authors. Companion to Brand Associations Contradiction Resolution (BASCR, ID 2043) from the same study.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Rodas, Maria A., Deborah Roedder John, and Carlos J. Torelli (2021). Building brands for the emerging bicultural market: The appeal of paradox brands. Journal of Consumer Research, 48(4), 633–650.

Keywords