Middle Response Functioning in Likert-responses to Personality Items

Kulas, John T.; Stachowski, Alicia; Haynes, Brad A.

doi:10.1007/s10869-008-9064-2

Cited by 135 publications

(109 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Additionally, many studies question central values in response scales given that the verbal statement that acompanies the central number does not mean the individual considers they are in the middle of the continuum of the corresponding latent construct (Dalal et al 2014;González-Romá and Espejo 2003;Hernández et al Kulas et al 2008;Kulas and Stachowski 2009;Murray et al 2015;Onwuegbuzie and Weems 2004). Also, the probability of chosing a central value in the scale is much lower than chosing any other value even for people whose trait levels are central (González-Romá and Espejo 2003;Hernández et al 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spanish Validation of the Flourishing Scale in the General Population

2017

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Well-being research and its measurement have grown in the last two decades. The objective of this study was to adapt and validate the Flourishing Scale in a sample of Spanish adults. This was a cross-sectional study using a non-probabilistic sample of 999 Spanish general adult population participants. The psychometric properties of the scale were analysed from an exploratory and confirmatory perspective. Exploratory factor analysis showed a one-factor solution explaining 42.3% of the variance; an internal consistency of .846; temporal reliability correlation of .749; convergent validity with the Satisfaction with Life Scale of .521 and criterion validity with positive and negative affect (PANAS), pessimism and optimism (LOT-R) ranging from .270 to .488. Confirmatory factor analysis testing the one-factor solution showed a χ 2 of 65.57 df = 20; CFI of .982, RMSEA of .06, average variance extracted index of .518 and composite reliability index of .841. Results showed that the Spanish version of the FS is a reliable and valid method for measuring high levels of well-being.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spanish Validation of the Flourishing Scale in the General Population

2017

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“…In each of these studies the set of items were selected to be very similar, or identical, and have also possessed a neutral or mildly positive valence. As these items may not be intrinsically interesting it is possible that when people are forced to choose between them they select the middle item as their default option because of indifference toward the items, as can occur on some rating scales (see Kulas, Stachowski, & Haynes, 2008). Similarly, as proposed by Christenfeld (1995), limited interest in the items may also cause participants to expend minimal mental effort on the selection, with the middle item selected because it appears to be the easiest option and requires the least thought.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Looking behaviour and preference for artworks: The role of emotional valence and location

Kreplin¹,

Thoma²,

Rodway³

2014

Acta Psychologica

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The position of an item influences its evaluation, with research consistently finding that items occupying central locations are preferred and have a higher subjective value. The current study investigated whether this centre-stage effect (CSE) is a result of bottom-up gaze allocation to the central item, and whether it is affected by item valence. Participants (n=50) were presented with three images of artistic paintings in a row and asked to choose the image they preferred. Eye movements were recorded for a subset of participants (n=22). On each trial the three artworks were either similar but different, or were identical and with positive valence, or were identical and with negative valence. The results showed a centre-stage effect, with artworks in the centre of the row preferred, but only when they were identical and of positive valence. Significantly greater gaze allocation to the central and left artwork was not mirrored by equivalent increases in preference choices. Regression analyses showed that when the artworks were positive and identical the participants' last fixation predicted preference for the central art-work, whereas the fixation duration predicted preference if the images were different. Overall the result showed that item valence, rather than level of gaze allocation, influences the CSE, which is incompatible with the bottom-up gaze explanation. We propose that the centre stage heuristic, which specifies that the best items are in the middle, is able to explain these findings and the centre-stage effect.Keywords: eye tracking, preference, centre-stage effect, art, decision making 3 1. Introduction In Western Society a robust social convention is that the person with the highest status will often be positioned in the centre a group of people (McArthur, 1981). This relationship between the central position and status has surprisingly important implications such as influencing how much a person is preferred, their perceived status, and even whether they will be given a job. For instance people who hold the belief that "Important people sit in the middle" are more likely to give a job to the candidate in the centre of a photograph of five potential job candidates (Raghubir & Valenzuela 2006). This 'center-stage effect' (CSE) has also been found to apply to consumer choices so that when people are presented with a row of similar items they show a preference for items in the middle rather than at either end of the row (Atalay, Bodur, & Rasolofoarison, 2012;Christenfeld, 1995;Raghubir & Valenzuela, 2006;Rodway, Schepman, & Lambert, 2012;Shaw & Bergen, 2000;Valenzuela & Raghubir, 2009). Therefore it is apparent that not all locations are treated equally, and the preference for centrally located people and objects influences decisions in a wide range of settings, including consumer choices and the evaluation of people.

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“…Because the middle response option does not always represent a neutral response, this can undermine the analysis of the latent trait and present false correlations, as well as provide a sort of "dumping ground" for when participants are uncertain of the item or their response (Kulas, Stachowski, & Haynes, 2008;Kulas & Stachowski, 2009). We gave one sample of participants the original 5-option survey and another sample a 6- Factor Structure of FFMQ Models fit to the standard 39-item dataset (D1-D3 combined, n = 725), showed that the correlated five-factor model with both positive and negative method effects provided the best fit to the data (see Table 1), consistent with prior work using a smaller subset of this sample (Van Dam et al 2012).…”

Section: Response Formattingmentioning

confidence: 99%