error-choice technique

an indirect attitude measure that consists of a series of objective-knowledge multiple-choice questions about an attitude object. These questions are constructed so that people are unlikely to know the true answers, but with response options that imply positive or negative evaluations of the attitude object. For example, an error-choice measure of attitudes toward capital punishment might include questions about the percentage of people falsely convicted for capital crimes and the percentage difference in the number of violent crimes in states with and without capital punishment. The procedure is based on the assumption that participants will use their attitudes as a basis for guessing; that is, they will tend to select answers that support their attitudes. Attitudes are assessed by computing the number of positive response options selected relative to the number of negative response options selected. Also called information-error technique.

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Psychology term of the day

November 24th 2024

point scale

any scale for measuring some construct or attribute in which participants’ responses to a series of multiple-choice questions are given numerical values (points). The final score is the total points earned. See also Likert scale; semantic differential.