Focal Attention to a Person or Object

What it measures

Three items ask participants to report how much attention they paid to a specific person or object during an encounter or task. Wan and Wyer (2019) used the scale in three experiments, applying it to customers, salespeople, and a manager. The items are general enough to be adapted for use with a wide range of focal targets, including advertisements or products.

Response format

10-point (1=limited, 10=a lot)

Scale items

• To what extent did you pay close attention to the _____?
• To what extent did you focus your attention on the _____?
• To what extent did the _____ grab your attention?

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

Usage notes & scoring

The 10-point format is unusual relative to most scales in this domain. All alphas were above .89. The blank in each item should be replaced with a label for the person or object to which attention is being directed. The authors caution that any modifications should be validated before use in theory-testing research.

Citation

Wan, L. C., & Wyer, R. S. (2019). The influence of incidental similarity on observers' causal attributions and reactions to a service failure. Journal of Consumer Research, 45(6), 1350–1368.

Keywords