Three bipolar items assess whether the source of a persuasive message is seen as pushy and aggressive. Hughes, Swaminathan, and Brooks (2019) used the scale in a pretest for Study 2, with a sample of 164 mothers. Two items were borrowed from Ahluwalia and Burnkrant (2004), who used them to measure source pressure; the third item (good/bad) was added by the current authors. The scale was labelled as a measure of persuasion knowledge in the original study.
9-point bipolar semantic differential
Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.
The third item (good/bad) is a general evaluative descriptor that does not specifically reflect aggressiveness; researchers should consider whether it aligns with their intended construct. Instructions and scale stem were not reported and will need to be tailored to the focal context and source type.
Hughes, C., Swaminathan, V., & Brooks, G. (2019). Driving brand engagement through online social influencers: An empirical investigation of sponsored blogging campaigns. Journal of Marketing, 83(5), 78–96.
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