Inferred Personal Information Ad Targeting Acceptance

What it measures

Six items measure how acceptable a consumer finds it for a social media platform to deliver personalised ads based on demographic characteristics — such as age, gender, and sexual orientation — that the platform has inferred from the person's usage patterns rather than information they have explicitly provided. This scale is one of four developed by Kim, Barasz, and John (2019) to examine consumer attitudes toward distinct behavioural targeting approaches used by social media platforms.

Response format

7-point Likert (1=strongly disagree, 7=completely agree)

Scale items

• My sexual orientation that _____ inferred based on my _____ usage.
• My relationship status that _____ inferred based on my _____ usage.
• My age that _____ inferred based on my _____ usage.
• My gender that _____ inferred based on my _____ usage.
• My current location that _____ inferred from my computer's unique IP address.
• My family members that _____ inferred from my _____ usage.

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

Usage notes & scoring

Companion scales from the same paper cover acceptance of cross-website tracking, stated personal information, and social connection-based targeting. The four scales showed evidence of a four-factor structure with loadings at .50 or above, supporting discriminant validity.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Kim, T., Barasz, K., & John, L. K. (2019). Why am I seeing this ad? The effect of ad transparency on ad effectiveness. Journal of Consumer Research, 45(5), 906–932.

Keywords