a type of assessment instrument comprising a series of statements measuring the same construct or variable to which respondents indicate their degree of agreement or disagreement. The number of response options for each item varies, often from 5 to 7 points (e.g., from strongly agree to strongly disagree). The response values for individual items may be summed to obtain a total or average score that reflects a person’s general attitude toward the construct of interest. A Likert scale is the most commonly used summated rating scale. Also called summated rating method; summated scale.