For my Comm 333 class, I will be analyzing two attitude scales which we studied in this previous module. The first attitude scale that I will analyze is the Likert Scale, and the second attitude scale will be the Visually Oriented scale. The Likert scale is a very common scale that every one of us has probably participated in once or twice before. The Likert scale is easy to construct and easy to give to an audience. They can be easily universal to the situation that you are looking for data. If you have even been out to eat at Chili’s Restaurant, you have probably been asked to fill this attitude scale out after making your payment and will ask you to rate your experience with a five steps rating system. The answers that they provide will range from very satisfied to not satisfied and highly likely to not likely. For the Visually Oriented Scale, you will most likely see these scales in hospitals or doctor’s offices. If you have been sick or broken a bone you have had a nurse come in and ask you to rate how you feel or how much pain you are in by looking at a “face” scale. This scale is used to determine pain or how someone is feeling based on faces from worst to best.
For the Likert Scale, there are some benefits to using this scale is that it is easy to get a consumer’s feedback and the survey itself is quick for them to fill out. Nowadays, people want fast and effective information, so this scale is used just for that. The Likert Scale is very easy for people to quickly go through the questions without having to give much thought. This scale is also very easy to personalize to the situation or product that you are wanting the consumer to rate. This scale is also very universal for different companies and fields and can be recycled for many uses. My main criticism of this scale in measuring attitudes is that they might not always be accurate. I have been guilty of this in the past of just running through the questions and give each one all 5 stars just so I can make my payment. To get accurate data I feel that this scale might not give that information you are looking for. I also feel that some individuals might not complete this scale because they do not have the time or feel that the scale is pointless. If you have a group of five people at a table and one persona vocalized that they are not going to take the survey it is most likely the others will not as well. Resulting in more than one survey that the company could have received that day.
For the Visually Oriented Scale, the benefits of this scale are that everyone is familiar with the scale. It is used in many hospitals and doctor’s offices over different countries and states. This can be beneficial for language barriers by them simply pointing on one of the faces that describe their pain or how they feel. This can also be helpful for people who cannot communicate properly on their feelings. It is a quick and easy way to get understand how an individual is feeling. My main criticism for this scale is that not everyone’s pain can be the same. So if doctors are using this scale to collect data on how bad a broken ankle feels or how bad a migraine is that everyone will have the same answer but what if they are feeling worse than someone else who picks the “bad” face. Sometimes I think it is also very hard to describe how you feel when you are not sure what is going on. With this test, some individuals might not give their honest pain level if they are around other individuals and do not want to feel weak or a “baby”.
After learning about these scales this module, it has put in my perspective that these scales are used for data and I honestly do feel bad for not giving my honest opinion on some of the Likert scales that I have taken in the past.
Lietzenmayer, A. (2020). Attitudes. Retrieved from https://www.blackboard.odu.edu/ultra/courses/_363440_1/cl/outline