HEGEMONIC MASCULINITY

 Hegemonic Masculinity is a gender order theory propagated by R. W. Connell. This theory recognizes multiple masculinities that vary across time, culture and the individual.

Hegemonic masculinity is defined as a practice that legitimizes men's dominant position in society and justifies the subordination of the common male population and women, and other marginalized ways of being a man. 

Conceptually, hegemonic masculinity proposes to explain how and why men maintain dominant social roles over women, and other gender identities, which are perceived as "feminine" in a given society.

As a sociological concept, the nature of hegemonic masculinity derives from the theory of cultural hegemony, by Marxist theorist Antonio Gramsci, which analyses the power relations among the social classes of a society. Hence, in the term hegemonic masculinity, the adjective hegemonic refers to the cultural dynamics by means of which a social group claims, and sustains, a leading and dominant position in a social hierarchy; nonetheless, hegemonic masculinity embodies a form of social organization that has been sociologically challenged and changed.

The conceptual beginnings of hegemonic masculinity represented the culturally idealized form of manhood that was socially and hierarchically exclusive and concerned with bread-winning; that was anxiety-provoking and differentiated (internally and hierarchically); that was brutal and violent, pseudo-natural and tough, psychologically contradictory, and thus crisis-prone; economically rich and socially sustained. However, many sociologists criticized that definition of hegemonic masculinity as a fixed character-type, which is analytically limited, because it excludes the complexity of different, and competing, forms of masculinity. Consequently, hegemonic masculinity was reformulated to include gender hierarchy, the geography of masculine configurations, the processes of social embodiment, and the psycho-social dynamics of the varieties of masculinity.

Hegemonic masculinity draws some of its historical roots from both the fields of social psychology and sociology which contributed to the literature about the male sex role that had begun to recognize the social nature of masculinity and the possibilities of change in men's conduct. This literature preceded the Women's Liberation Movement and feminist theories of patriarchy which also played a strong role in shaping the concept of hegemonic masculinity. The core concepts of power and difference were found in the gay liberation movement which had not only sought to analyse the oppression of men but also oppression by men. This idea of a hierarchy of masculinities has since persisted and strongly influenced the reformulation of the concept.

Proponents of the concept of hegemonic masculinity argue that it is conceptually useful for understanding gender relations, and is applicable to life-span  development, education, criminology, the representations of masculinity in the mass communications media, the health of men and women, and the functional structure of organizations. 

Critics argue that it is heteronormative, is not self-reproducing, ignores positive aspects of masculinity, relies on a flawed underlying concept of masculinity, or is too ambiguous to have practical application.

Terry Kupers of The Wright Institute describes the concept of hegemonic masculinity in these terms: In contemporary American and European culture, [hegemonic masculinity] serves as the standard upon which the "real man" is defined.

According to [R. W.] Connell, contemporary hegemonic masculinity is built on two legs, domination of women and a hierarchy of intermale dominance. It is also shaped to a significant extent by the stigmatization of homosexuality. Hegemonic masculinity is the stereotypic notion of masculinity that shapes the socialization and aspirations of young males.

Today’s hegemonic masculinity includes a high degree of ruthless competition, an inability to express emotions other than anger, an unwillingness to admit weakness or dependency, devaluation of women and all feminine attributes in men, homophobia, and so forth.

The Hegemonic Masculity theory has enabled an understanding of:

Hegemonic masculinity has been used in education studies to understand the dynamics of classroom life, including patterns of resistance and bullying among boys. This concept has also been helpful in structuring violence-prevention programs for youth and emotional education programs for boys.

Hegemonic masculinity has greatly influenced criminology as data reflects that men and boys perpetuate more conventional crimes and more serious crimes than women and girls. These all are because men are treated to be very masculine. This leads toxic masculinity in them.

The concept of hegemonic masculinity helped in theorizing the relationship among masculinities and a variety of crimes. It was also used in studies on specific crimes by boys and men, such as rape, murder, football hooliganism and white-collar crime, and assaultive violence. Research in criminology showed how particular patterns of aggression were linked with hegemonic masculinity, not because criminals already had dominant positions, but because they were pursuing them.

Hegemonic masculinity has also been employed in studying media representations of men. Because the concept of hegemony helps to make sense of both the diversity and the selectiveness of images in mass media, media researchers have begun mapping the relations between different masculinities. Portrayals of masculinity in men's lifestyle magazines have been studied and researchers found elements of hegemonic masculinity woven throughout them. 

Commercial sports are a focus of media representations of masculinity, and the developing field of sports sociology found significant use of the concept of hegemonic masculinity. For e.g. in games like Rugby, American football, we see that encouraged dominant mode of hegemonic masculinity valuing emotionlessness, invulnerability, toughness, and risk-taking, concussions have become normalized

Hegemonic masculinity has been increasingly used to understand men's health practices and determinants.

Hegemonic masculinity has proved significant in organizational studies as the gendered character of workplaces and bureaucracies has been increasingly recognized.

Hegemonic masculinity has impacted both conflict and international relations, serving as a foundation for militarism.

 

POST TESTING | ADVERTISING | MARKETING

Post-testing: This is the testing, which is done after the ad copy has come out in the media and the audience has seen the advertisement.

Post-testing typically involves interviewing readers to determine how many remember seeing a particular ad, if they read it, and what they remember about it. 

Post-testing measures the following factors:

 Has the advertisement campaign result in sales?

 Has it created memorability for the brand name?

 Has it created positive image and a favorable attitude towards the company and the brand?

 How much advertising is necessary on a continued basis, to sustain the same level of consumers’ interest in the brand?

 Are the consumers convinced that the brand is superior of competitors

 

The purpose of post-testing is as below:

1. To find out the impact of an ad in terms of it being noticed, seen and read.

2. To find out its credibility.

3. To find out its comprehension

4. To measure its memorability.

5. To assess its effect on buyers.

6. To assess its fit with the promotion and marketing mix

7. To assess whether it has achieved its objectives.

8. To assess the relative effectiveness of different copies and media plans.

9. To improve future advertising efforts.

 

The post-testing methods.

This actually gives us an idea about the actual performance of the ad in terms of exposure, perception, communication and sales effect. We can assess the credibility and comprehension of the ads.

Few of the methods of this type of tests are:

1. Recall tests: In this type of tests the individuals are asked to answer about the ads entirely on the basis of their memory. It could be aided recall, where they are given few cues to help them recall and unaided recall, which of course is based on memory alone.

2. Recognition test: It determines the readership of advertisements in the publications and is conducted by personal interviews with readers and magazines or newspapers. The interviewers locate the readers of the particular issue of the publication in questions. They then go through the publication, page by page, with the respondent indicating those advertising elements which he or she recognizes as having read. The scores developed by the recognition method indicate the proportion of qualified readers of a publication who claim to have “seen” (noted), “read some” or “read most” of the individual advertisements.

The above describes the method used for post-test, In a pre-test, a portfolio of advertisements is used. The respondent is asked to go through the portfolio, then it is taken away, and the respondent is asked; What advertisements do you remember seeing?' the recognition test may thus be combined with the recall or impact test which has been described below.

3. Triple association test: Here the respondent is given certain cues wherein he can relate to a certain brand. For example – “Thanda Matlab”, if the answer is coca cola, then it is correct. And if the respondent is able to connect the product with the company then it is a triple association.

4. Sales effect tests: They measure the various stages of buyer awareness, preference, buying intention and actual purchase in relation to actual advertising effort.

5. Sales results tests: The additional sales generated by the ads are recorded. It is difficult however to correlate an increase in sales to advertising alone.

6. Inquires test: These are couponed ads of consumer durables. They invite consumers to send back the coupon to seek a demo or more details. The number of enquires determine the effectiveness of the ads.

7. Attitude test: Attitudes show our predisposition towards objects, ideas, people and places. They indicate overall feelings. The change in attitude as a result of advertising is assessed. The assumption is that a favorable attitude towards a product will lead to a purchase. Most ads are designed either to reinforce or change the existing attitudes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRE-TESTING | ADVERTISING | MARKETING

 Pre-testing: This is the test of the copy before it is given to the media.

The purpose of pre-testing is as follows:

• To spot errors in the copy

• To make communication more effective

• To design the ad better

• To reduce wastage in advertising

• To ensure that the money is spent prudently.

Pre-testing is a type of research that involves gathering reactions to messages and materials prior to widespread use. Pre-testing is the stage of advertising research in which a complete ad is tested. It is important that the objectives of pre-testing research relate back to the agreed advertising strategy. 

Pre-tests may occur at a number of points, from as early on as idea generation to rough execution to testing the final version before implementing it. More than one type of pre-test may be used. A number of variables can be evaluated in pretesting, including the ability of the ad to attract attention, comprehension by the reader/viewer, recall, persuasion, attitude toward the brand, credibility and irritation level. Pretests should be used as guides and not as absolute predictors of winners or losers.

In pre-testing it is always best to use multiple measures to evaluate. In particular, the multiple measures recommended are:

1. Impact: The ability of the advertising to be noticed and remembered.

2. Communication: The ability of the advertising to impart a message, which is clearly and uniformly understood by the target market.

3. Relevancy: The ability of the advertising to persuade consumers that their needs will be met by the product.

4. Affinity Building: The ability of the advertising to generate consumer affinity (liking) for both the advertisement and the brand being advertised.

5. Call to Action: The ability of the advertising to motivate consumers to try or re-buy the brand being advertised.

6. Brand Building Ability: The ability of the advertising to create, change or reinforce certain key predetermined brand attributes (features, benefits, feelings) as encompassed in the brand’s positioning objectives and strategy.

7. Involvement: The ability of the advertising to involve the consumers or keep him/her interested.

8. Brand fit: The ability of the advertising to demonstrate brand fit or keep him/her interested.

9. Creative Diagnostics: The pre-test should elicit a host of creative diagnostics to help answer the “whys?” that always emerge from behind the above measures.

 

Print Pre-testing:

Print pre testing methods:

1. Consumer Jury test

2. Portfolio test

3. Paired comparison test

4. Order-of-merit test

5. Mock magazine test

6. Direct mail test.

7. Direct Questioning

8. Focus Groups

 

1. Consumer Jury Test: Few consumers form a group and act as jury to show their preferences for one or two ads out of several ads being considered. The jury members rank the ads and respond to the questions like which was the most impressive ad or which ad provoked you most to go ahead and buy the product or which ad did you notice first and so on.

2. Portfolio test: In this pre-test, a portfolio of advertisements is used. The respondent is asked to go through the portfolio, then it is taken away, and the respondent is asked; What advertisements do you remember seeing?' The recognition test may thus be combined with the recall or impact test.

3. Paired comparison test: Paired-comparison designs (in which the consumer is asked to use two copies and determine which copy is better) appeal to our common sense. The Paired-Comparison is a wonderful design if presenting evidence to a jury, because of its "face value" or "face validity." It can be a very sensitive testing technique (i.e., it can measure very small differences) between two copies.

Also, the paired-comparison test is often less expensive than other methods, because sample sizes can be smaller in some instances. Paired-comparison testing, however, is limited in value for a serious, ongoing copy testing program. The paired-comparison test does not tell us when both copies are bad and does not lend itself to the use of normative data. It is heavily influenced by the "interaction effect" (i.e., any variations in the control copy will create corresponding variance in the test copy 's scores).

4. Order-of-merit test: Here the ranking of the advertisements are done by a group of people called the jurors. The point system is given to an average of 4-5 copies that they are given to rank. The order of merit is the one, which determine which the best advertisement by the jurors is and which has been rated as the worst. The points given by the jurors are then added together to determine which is the ad, which has got the maximum points. This is the one that is the chosen one.

5. Mock (“dummy”) magazine test: Readers are told the magazines publisher is interested in evolutions of editorial content and asked to read the magazines as they normally would. In an improvement on the portfolio test, ads are placed in “dummy” magazines developed by an agency or research firm. The magazines combine regular editorial features of interest to the reader, as well as the test ads, and are distributed to a random sample of homes in predetermined geographic arrears. Then the interview-generating capabilities of the ads are assessed. The advantage of this method is that it provides a more natural setting than the portfolio tests. Readership occurs in the participant’s own home, the test more closely approximates.

6. Direct mail test: Direct mail is the most common form of direct marketing, advertising that conveys its messages straight to the consumer or another business rather than using an intervening medium such as television or print advertising.

7. Direct questioning: Direct questioning - elicits a full range of responses from which researchers can infer how well advertising messages convey key copy points. It is especially effective for testing alternative ads in the early stages of development. The heart and soul of copy research is the depth interview, a lengthy (one to two hours), one-on-one, personal interview, conducted directly by the copy researcher. Much of the power of the depth interview is dependent upon the insight, sensitivity, and skill of the researcher. The interviewing task cannot be delegated to traditional marketing research interviewers—who have no training in motivational techniques.

8. Focus group: A number of respondents (participants) convened by an interviewer to discuss questions or issues relating to the research topic. The interviewer’s role is to facilitate & moderate the discussion and ensure it covers the key questions & issues. Participants may raise important new issues/questions.

 

Broadcast Pre-testing:

Television and radio advertising:

1. Trailer tests: Large Screens in shopping malls show advertisements. A real life like shopping environment is created to measure consumer behavior. One group is given coupons to purchase selective brands, and the other group is not given the coupons. The redemption rate of the coupons may give an idea about the effectiveness of the test ads. Interviews conducted in a set location, (typically either a field research facility in an office or a shopping mall) for the purpose of interviewing people in that area.

2. Theatre test: During a regular show in a theatre, advertisements are shown in regular slots and are tested for recall. The audiences in the theatre are unaware of the tests and are asked to recall the ad. Consumers in the theatre are asked then to remember the ad (or maybe even all the ads) – to check if the ad is clutter breaking.

3. Live telecast tests: Ads are put on air either by narrow casting or live telecasting. These ads are test ads, and not the regular ads. Later, viewers are interviewed to know their reactions. Here the inaccuracies of artificial testing environment are not encountered.

4. Clutter test: It is the method of pre-testing in which commercials are grouped with noncompetitive control commercials and shown to prospective customers to measure their effectiveness in gaining attention, increasing brand awareness and comprehension, and causing attitude shifts. Commercials are shown with non competing control ads to determine attitude shifts and detect weaknesses.

Challenges to pre testing

Factors other than advertising creatively and/or presentation may affect recall during pre-testing. Interest in the product or product category, the fact that respondents know they are participating in a test, or interviewer instructions (among others) may account for more differences than the ads itself.

Recall may not be the best. Some researchers argue that for certain types of products (those of low involvement) ability to recognize the ads when shown may be better measures than recall.

Limitation of the juror: Jury selected may not be competent enough to evaluate the ad copy.

Limited concepts: Even the quantity of concepts exposed to the respondents is limited. Here creativity is restricted.

 

Halo effect: Halo effect is the greatest limitation of pretesting. When we consider a person good (or bad) in one category, we are likely to make a similar evaluation in other categories. Thus the 'Halo effect' is when a person's perception of another is influenced by their appearance.

Most commonly attractive people are judged as having a more desirable personality than someone of average appearance. A common example of the halo effect is when a person is assumed to be smart because he or she is wearing spectacles. Another is that good-looking school children (or a good-looking person versus a more plain looking person) are assumed to be more clever.

The halo effect may or may not have anything to do with the physical appearance of the person. It is equally applicable to any attribute one holds as valuable. A person who is good at “X” is deemed to be good at “Y” even if the two items are not related. Of course, the halo effect does not actually confer accuracy, it simply addresses that the reasoning is flawed. In marketing, a halo effect is one where the perceived positive features of a particular item extend to a broader brand. It has been used to describe how the iPod has had positive effects on perceptions of Apple Computer are other products. Sometimes participants rate an ad good on all characteristics because they like a few and overlook specific weaknesses. This tendency, called the halo effect, distorts the ratings and defeats the ability to control for specific components.

Of course, the reverse may also occur-rating an ad bad overall due to only a few bad attributes. Subjective reaction on the part of consumers noticed by researchers when attempting to analyze consumer attitudes and their relationship to the market structure, particularly in the area of advertising or brand evaluation. For example, in theory, an individual should be able to evaluate each feature of a given brand independently and should have no difficulty giving a high rating to one feature while giving another a low rating. However, in practice, researchers have noticed that respondents have a tendency to give a high rating to all the brand's features if they like the brand, and a low rating to all the features if they do not like the brand. This is known as a halo effect.

The halo effect makes it difficult to evaluate brands in terms of their strengths and weaknesses. However, if a brand name has a quality reputation in the marketplace, the halo effect may work to the brand's advantage, particularly when the company is introducing a new product into the line.

SCALING

Scaling describes the procedures of assigning numbers to various degrees of opinion, attitude and other concepts. This can be done in two ways viz., 

(i) making a judgement about some characteristic of an individual and then placing him directly on a scale that has been defined in terms of that characteristic and

(ii) constructing questionnaires in such a way that the score of individual’s responses assigns him a place on a scale. It may be stated here that a scale is a continuum, consisting of the highest point (in terms of some characteristic e.g., preference, favourableness, etc.) and the lowest point along with several intermediate points between these two extreme points. These scale-point positions are so related to each other that when the first point happens to be the highest point, the second point indicates a higher degree in terms of a given characteristic as compared to the third point and the third point indicates a higher degree as compared to the fourth and so on. Numbers for measuring the distinctions of degree in the attitudes/opinions are, thus, assigned to individuals corresponding to their scale-positions.

All this is better understood when we talk about scaling technique(s). Hence the term ‘scaling’ is applied to the procedures for attempting to determine quantitative measures of subjective abstract concepts.

Scaling has been defined as a “procedure for the assignment of numbers (or other symbols) to a property of objects in order to impart some of the characteristics of numbers to the properties in question.”

Scaling is a technique used for measuring qualitative responses of respondents such as those related to their feelings, perception, likes, dislikes, interests and preferences. An attitude is a person's feeling toward and evaluation of some object or event.

Measurement Scales

Scaling is the measurement of a variable in such a way that it can be expressed on a continuum. Rating your preference for a product from 1 to 10 is an example of a scale.

Concept: A researcher has to know what to measure before knowing how to measure something. The problem definition process should suggest the concepts that must be measured.

 A concept can be thought of as a generalized idea that represents something of meaning. Concepts such as age, sex, education, and number of children are relatively concrete properties. They present few problems in either definition or measurement.

Other concepts are more abstract. Concepts such as loyalty, personality, channel power, trust, corporate culture, customer satisfaction, value, and so on are more difficult to both define and measure. For example, loyalty has been measured as a combination of customer share (the relative proportion of a person’s purchases going to one competing brand/store) and commitment (the degree to which a customer will sacrifice to do business with a brand/store).Thus, we can see that loyalty consists of two components, the first is behavioral and the second is attitudinal.

There are four types of measuring scales:

1. Nominal Scale

2. Ordinal Scale

3. Interval Scale

4. Ratio Scale

1.Nominal Scale: 

This is a very simple scale. It consists of assignment of facts/choices to various alternative categories which are usually exhaustive as well mutually exclusive. These scales are just numerical and are the least restrictive of all the scales.

Instances of Nominal Scale are - credit card numbers, bank account numbers, employee id numbers etc. It is simple and widely used when relationship between two variables is to be studied. In a Nominal Scale numbers are no more than labels and are used specifically to identify different categories of responses. Following example illustrates -

What is your gender?

[ ] Male

[ ] Female

Another example is - a survey of retail stores done on two dimensions - way of maintaining stocks and daily turnover.

How do you stock items at present?

[ ] By product category

[ ] At a centralized store

[ ] Department wise

[ ] Single warehouse

 

Daily turnover of consumer is?

[ ] Between 100 – 200

[ ] Between 200 – 300

[ ] Above 300

2.Ordinal Scale

Ordinal scales are the simplest attitude measuring scale used in Marketing Research. It is more powerful than a nominal scale in that the numbers possess the property of rank order. The ranking of certain product attributes/benefits as deemed important by the respondents is obtained through the scale.

Example: Rank the following attributes (1 - 5), on their importance in a microwave oven.

1. Company Name

2. Functions

3. Price

4. Comfort

5. Design

The most important attribute is ranked 1 by the respondents and the least important is ranked 5. Instead of numbers, letters or symbols too can be used to rate in a ordinal scale. Such scale makes no attempt to measure the degree of favourability of different rankings.

Example 2 - If there are 4 different types of fertilizers and if they are ordered on the basis of quality as Grade A, Grade B, Grade C, Grade D is again an Ordinal Scale.

Example 3 - If there are 5 different brands of Talcum Powder and if a respondent ranks them based on say, “Freshness” into Rank 1 having maximum Freshness Rank 2 the second maximum Freshness, and so on, an Ordinal Scale results.

Median and mode are meaningful for ordinal scale.

3. Interval Scale

Herein the distance between the various categories unlike in Nominal, or numbers unlike in Ordinal, are equal in case of Interval Scales. The Interval Scales are also termed as Rating Scales. An Interval Scale has an arbitrary Zero point with further numbers placed at equal intervals. A very good example of Interval Scale is a Thermometer.

Example - How do you rate your present refrigerator for the following qualities.

Company Name Less Known 1 2 3 4 5 Well Known

Functions Few 1 2 3 4 5 Many

Price Low 1 2 3 4 5 High

Design Poor 1 2 3 4 5 Good

Overall Satisfaction Very Dis- Satisfied1 2 3 4 5 Very Satisfied

Such a scale permits the researcher to say that position 5 on the scale is above position 4 and also the distance from 5 to 4 is same as distance from 4 to 3. Such a scale however does not permit conclusion that position 4 is twice as strong as position 2 because no zero position has been established. The data obtained from the Interval Scale can be used to calculate the Mean scores of each attributes over all respondents. The Standard Deviation (a measure of dispersion) can also be calculated.

4.Ratio Scale

Ratio Scales are not widely used in Marketing Research unless a base item is made available for comparison. In the above example of Interval scale, a score of 4 in one quality does not necessarily mean that the respondent is twice more satisfied than the respondent who marks 2 on the scale. A Ratio scale has a natural zero point and further numbers are placed at equally appearing intervals. For example scales for measuring physical quantities like - length, weight, etc.

The ratio scales are very common in physical scenarios. Quantified responses forming a ratio scale analytically are the most versatile. Ratio scale possess all the characteristics of an internal scale, and the ratios of the numbers on these scales have meaningful interpretations. Data on certain demographic or descriptive attributes, if they are obtained through open-ended questions, will have ratio-scale properties. Consider the following questions :

Q 1) What is your annual income before taxes? ______ $ / Rs

Q 2) How far is the Theater from your home ? ______ miles / kms

Answers to these questions have a natural, unambiguous starting point, namely zero. Since starting point is not chosen arbitrarily, computing and interpreting ratio makes sense. For example we can say that a respondent with an annual income of $ 40,000 earns twice as much as one with an annual income of $ 20,000.

ATTITUDE MEASURING SCALES

Attitude is a resultant of number of external and internal factors. Depending upon the attitude to be measured, appropriate scales are designed.

Attitudes have two important aspects: Direction (positive/negative, for or against) and Intensity (strength of feeling). For example, you might like horses - thus, your attitude towards horses has a positive direction. 

Every attitude has three components that are represented in what is called the ABC model of attitudes: A for affective, B for behavioral, and C for cognitive.

The affective component refers to the emotional reaction one has toward an attitude object. For example, 'I feel scared when I think about or see a snake.' 

Various methods of attitude measuring scales

Attitude is a group of opinions, values and dispositions to act associated with a particular object or concept. Measuring attitude in your survey can be difficult because it requires a series of questions to evaluate it effectively. An attitude scale is designed to provide a valid, or accurate, measure of an individual's social attitude

Here are some examples of subjects that an attitude survey might attempt to measure.

 Attitude on Choice of smart phone

 Attitude on customer service

 Attitude on use of software

Various methods of attitude measurements are:

1. Likert Scale

It was developed Rensis Likert. Here the respondents are asked to indicate a degree of agreement and disagreement with each of a series of statement. Each scale item has 5 response categories ranging from strongly agree and strongly disagree.

5 Strongly agree

4 Agree

3 Indifferent

2 Disagree

1 Strongly disagree

Each degree of agreement is given a numerical score and the respondents total score is computed by summing these scores. This total score of respondent reveals the particular opinion of a person. Likert Scale are of ordinal type, they enable one to rank attitudes, but not to measure the difference between attitudes. They take about the same amount of efforts to create as Thurston scale and are considered more discriminating and reliable because of the larger range of responses typically given in Likert scale.

A typical Likert scale has 20 - 30 statements. While designing a good Likert Scale, first a large pool of statements relevant to the measurement of attitude has to be generated and then from the pool statements, the statements which are vague and non-discriminating have to be eliminated. Thus, likert scale is a five point scale ranging from ’strongly agreement’ to ’strongly disagreement’. No judging gap is involved in this method.

2. Semantic Differential Scale

This is a seven point scale and the end points of the scale are associated with bipolar labels.

1Unpleasant Submissive 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pleasant Dominant

Suppose we want to know personality of a particular person. We have options

i.Unpleasant/Submissive

ii. Pleasant/Dominant

Bi-polar means two opposite streams. Individual can score between 1 to 7 or -3 to 3. On the basis of these responses profiles are made. We can analyse for two or three products and by joining these profiles we get profile analysis. It could take any shape depending on the number of variables.

 

Profile Analysis

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Mean and median are used for comparison. This scale helps to determine overall similarities and differences among objects.

When Semantic Differential Scale is used to develop an image profile, it provides a good basis for comparing images of two or more items. The big advantage of this scale is its simplicity, while producing results compared with those of the more complex scaling methods. The method is easy and fast to administer, but it is also sensitive to small differences in attitude, highly versatile, reliable and generally valid.

 

3. Stapel’s Scale

It was developed by Jan Stapel. This scale has some distinctive features:-

Each item has only one word/phrase indicating the dimension it represents.

i. Each item has ten response categories.

ii. Each item has an even number of categories.

iii. The response categories have numerical labels but no verbal labels.

For example, in the following items, suppose for quality of ice cream, we ask respondents to rank from +5 to -5. Select a plus number for words which best describe the ice cream accurately. Select a minus number for words you think do not describe the ice cream quality accurately. Thus, we can select any number from +5,for words we think are very accurate, to -5,for words we think are very inaccurate.

This scale is usually presented vertically.

+5

+4

+3

+2

+1

High Quality

-1

-2

-3

-4

-5

4. The Constant Sum Scale:

The constant sum scale requires the respondent to divide a constant sum, generally 10 or 100, among two or more objects or attributes on order to reflect the respondent’s relative preference for each object, the importance of the attribute, or the degree to which an object contains each attribute.

Divide 100 points among the characteristics listed so that the division will reflect how important each characteristic is to your selection of a new automobile.

Price ____

Economy ____

Dependability ____

Safety ____

Comfort ____

Style ____

Total 100

 

5. Guttman Scales/Scalogram Analysis

A Guttman scale presents a number of items to which the person is requested to agree or not agree. This is typically done in a 'Yes/No' dichotomous format. It is also possible to use a Likert scale, although this is less commonly used.

Questions in a Guttman scale gradually increase in specificity. The intent of the scale is that the person will agree with all statements up to a point and then will stop agreeing.

The scale may be used to determine how extreme a view is, with successive statements showing increasingly extremist positions.

If needed, the escalation can be concealed by using intermediate questions.

Example

Place a check-mark against all statements` with which you agree

I like eating out [ ]

I like going to restaurants [ ]

I like going to themed restaurants [ ]

I like going to Chinese restaurants [ ]

I like going to Beijing-style Chinese restaurants [ ]