Homogeneity of the Group

What it measures

This scale measures the degree to which a person believes that members of a group are similar in their characteristics and capabilities. The items are flexible enough for application to human or non-human "members," such as animals, technical systems, and devices. Longoni, Cian, and Kyung (2023) used it in Study 2 with participants who read a news article about an algorithm or a person that had failed in some way; the source of the scale was not stated and is assumed to have been created by the authors.

Response format

7-point Likert (1=Disagree strongly, 7=Agree strongly)

Scale items

• These ___ are most likely very similar to each other in terms of their characteristics.
• These ___ most likely resemble one another in terms of their characteristics and capabilities.
• These ___ most likely share common underlying characteristics.

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

Usage notes & scoring

Alpha was .95 (Longoni, Cian, and Kyung 2023, p. 176); validity was not discussed. Items follow the stem "To what extent do you believe that:"; a name for the focal members of the group should be placed in the blanks. As used by Longoni, Cian, and Kyung (2023), participants read about people or algorithms.

Citation

Longoni, Chiara, Luca Cian, and Ellie J. Kyung (2023), "Algorithmic Transference: People Overgeneralize Failures of AI in the Government," Journal of Marketing Research, 60 (1), 170-188.

Keywords