Rating scales are used to measure (often numerically) peoples' attitudes to stimuli such as products, advertisements, informational statements, etc. A balanced rating scale is a measure developed from a list of response categories containing an equal number of favorable and unfavorable categories (e.g., "good," "average," and "poor"). An unbalanced rating scale is a measure developed from a list
... [Show full abstract] of response categories containing an unequal number of favorable and unfavorable categories (e.g.,"very good," "good," "average," and "poor"). An experiment was designed and executed to determine if use of an unbalanced rating scale will cause subjects' relative valuations of stimuli to be different than if a balanced rating scale were used. The design of the experiment was structured on the assumption that subjects make their attitude response either 1) in a relative way with reference to the extreme categories at both ends of the list of categories (the "position effect") or 2) in an absolute way with reference to the meaning of the descriptors used to label categories (the "label effect"). Responses to three rating scales (one balanced, two unbalanced) were compared. The results indicate that the "label effect" is stronger and overrides the "position effect."
