The Optimal Number of Response Alternatives for a Scale: A Review

Eli P. Cox

814 citations0/0 files storedJournal of Marketing Research

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Psychometric Methodologies and Testing Survey Methodology and Nonresponse Reliability and Agreement in Measurement

Abstract

A conceptual framework employing the distinction between stimulus-centered and subject-centered scales is presented as a basis for reviewing 80 years of literature on the optimal number of response alternatives for a scale. Concepts and research from information theory and the absolute judgment paradigm of psychophysics are used. The author reviews the major factors influencing the quality of scaled information, points out areas in particular need of additional research, and makes some recommendations for the applied researcher.

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1951Coefficient Alpha and the Internal Structure of Tests 1956The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information.1979Reliability: A Review of Psychometric Basics and Recent Marketing Practices 1928Attitudes Can Be Measured 1951Estimation of the Reliability of Ratings

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