Measure Interpretation Process measures, 2007
Please note that the development of reliable measures for use at various ages still continues. The following measures comprise the most reliable versions of indices used to date.
Topic: Channel One, Advertising, Media Literacy
Pinkleton, B. E., Austin, E. W., Van de Vord, R., Arganbright, M., & Yi-Chun Yvonnes Chen (2006). How Orientations Toward Media Use Affect Media Literacy Outcomes in a Test Focused on Channel One News. Academic Exchange Journal, 10(3), 115-120.
Consumerism: Two items (Greenberg & Brand, 1993), 7-point scale
(Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree)
" When I watch commercials, I want what is show.
" People who have a lot of money are happier than people who have only
a little money.
Interest in ads: One item, 7-point scale (Strongly Disagree to Strongly
Agree)
" The commercials on Channel One are more interest than other commercials
I see.
Skepticism: One item, 7-point scale (Strongly Disagree to Strongly
Agree)
" Advertisers try to take advantages of teens.
Orientation toward use of media genres: Five items, 7-point scale
(Not at all important to Very important)
" TV news
" Reality shows
" Channel One
" Newspapers
" Magazines
Perceived usefulness of Channel One: Four items, 7-point scale (Strongly
Disagree to Strongly Agree) (alpha= .89)
" I think my school should continue to show Channel One.
" Channel One helps me find out what other teens are thinking.
" I like Channel One.
" Channel One tells me things I need to know.
Reflective thinking: Three items, 7-point scale (Strongly Disagree
to Strongly Agree) (alpha= .71)
" It's worth my time to consider the truthfulness of advertising messages.
" It's interesting to think about what the creator of a media message
wants me to believe.
" When I see a media message, I think about who created it.
Public affair knowledge: Four items, Yes/No answers
" Who is the president of the United States?
" Who is the vice president of the United States?
" Who is the governor of the state of Washington?
" How many senators does each state elect?
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Topic: Alcohol, Media Literacy
Austin, E. W., Miller, A., Silva, J., Guerra, P., Geisler, N., Gamboa, L., Phakakayai, O. et al. (2002). The effects of increased cognitive involvement on college students' interpretations of magazine advertisements for alcohol. Communication Research, 29(2), 155-179 .
Appeal of individual ads: One item, Yes/No
" Respondents' appeal toward alcohol ads was measured according to
their response to whether each of the 4 ads viewed seemed "especially
appealing to you" on a scale of 0 (No) to 1 (Yes). These responses
were summed to create an index.
Trust:
" Participants rated each ad for whether it "can be trusted"
on a scale ranging from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 7 (Strongly Agree). Responses
were summed to create an index.
Desirability: Four items, 7-point scale (Strongly Disagree to Strongly
Agree), alpha=.77
" People in ads seem popular.
" People in ads seem happy.
" People in ads seem having fun.
" People in ads are attractive.
Realism: Three items, 7-point scale (Strongly Disagree to Strongly
Agree), alpha=.76
" Magazines are a realistic source of information for what makes people
popular.
" Magazines are a realistic source of information for what makes people
successful.
" Magazines are a realistic source of information for how people like
me act.
College student norms: Four items, 7-point scale (Strongly Disagree
to Strongly Agree), alpha=.80
" Play drinking games.
" Drinking alcohol.
" Have ridden with drivers who have been drinking.
" Have gotten sick from drinking.
Identification with people in magazine ads: Three items, 7-point
scale (Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree), alpha=.72
" Do what they do.
" Look like them.
" Be like them.
Expectancies for drinking alcohol: Six items, 7-point scale (Strongly
Disagree to Strongly Agree), alpha=.85
" Feel happy
" Parties are more fun
" Helps you fit in
" Good reward after a hard day
" Drinking together is a sign of a good relationship
" Good way to relax
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Topic: Alcohol
Austin, E.W.; Chen, M-J; Grube, J.W. (2006). How does alcohol advertising influence underage drinking? The role of desirability, identification and skepticism. Journal of Adolescent Health, 38(4):376-384, 2006.
Parental guidance: Three items, 3-point scale (Never to Often) (alpha=
.65)
" Parents help understand what I see on TV.
" Parents help understand that some things on TV are not really true.
" Parents explain what ads are trying to do.
Skepticism: Two items, 4-point scale (Strongly Disagree to Strongly
Agree)
" Alcohol ads make drinking seem better than it really is.
" Companies that make ads want me to buy things that I don't really
need.
Desirability: Three items, 4-poitn scale (Strongly Disagree to Strongly
Agree) (alpha= .78)
" The women in alcohol ads are always good looking.
" Men in beer ads are strong.
" People drinking beer in TV ads seem to have lots of friends.
Identification: Three items, 4-point scale ((Strongly Disagree to
Strongly Agree) (alpha=.80)
" I wish I were as good looking as most people in the beer ads.
" I want to have as much fun as the people in the beer ads do.
" I want to have as many friends as the people in the beer ads do.
Alcohol expectancies: 4-point scale (Very Unlikely to Very Likely)
Positive expectancies (alpha=.90): How likely it was for them personally
that having three or four drinks of any alcohol would lead to positive consequences
(feel relaxed, feel happy, feel friendly, feel confident, feel outgoing,
have fun, feel easy with expressing feelings, and feel more at ease around
people)
Negative expectancies (alpha=.84): How likely it was for them personally that having three or four drinks of any alcohol would lead to negative consequences (get into trouble with the police, get a hangover, harm health, out of control, do something regret later, feel sick, and get into fistfights)
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Topic: Tobacco
Austin, E. W., Pinkleton, B., Hust, S. J. T., & Cohen, M. (2005). Evaluation of an American legacy foundation/Washington star Department of Health media literacy pilot study. Health Communication, 18(1), 75-95.
Desirability: Four items, 7-point scale (Strong Disagree to Strongly
Agree) (alpha=.79, pretest; alpha= .78, posttest)
" People in ads who smoke look like they are having fun.
" People in ads who smoke look popular.
" People in ads who smoke look unhappy (recoded).
" People in ads who smoke look powerful.
Skepticism: Five items, 7-point scale (Never to Always), each measure
was used independently in analysis
" Ads help me know what I need to buy.
" Advertisers just want to me money.
" Companies who make ads want me to buy things I don't need.
" Advertising is a good source of product information.
Efficacy: Three items, 7-point scale (Strong Disagree to Strongly
Agree) (alpha=.62, pretest; alpha=.77, posttest)
" I can affect whether my friends use tobacco.
" I can affect whether other teenagers use tobacco.
" I can create an antitobacco advertisement.
" I have ideas about how I can use media to affect whether other teenagers
use tobacco.
Perceived peer norms: Two items, 7-point scale (Strongly Disagree
to Strongly Agree) (r=.68***, pretest; r=.40***, posttest)
" Most teenagers smoke.
" Most teenagers my age use tobacco.
Peer influence: Two items (r=.35***, pretest; r=.51***, posttest)
" How many of your four closest friends use tobacco? [1, 2, 3, 4]
" If one of your best friends offered you a cigarette, would you smoke
it? [7-point scale (Definitely No to Definitely Yes)]
Peer discussion:
" How many times in the past week (0-7 or more) they had talked with
friends about preventing tobacco use "besides in this class."
Similarity: Two questions, 7-point scale (Strongly Disagree to Strongly
Agree)
" People who use tobacco are like people I know.
" People who use tobacco in ads are like people in my family.
Identification: Three questions, 7-point scale (Strongly Disagree
to Strongly Agree) (alpha=.80, pretest; alpha=.76, posttest)
" I want to be like the people in ads who smoke.
" It would be fun to look like people in ads who smoke.
" People in ads who smoke do things I want to do.
Perceived realism: Three questions, 7-point scale (Strongly Disagree
to Strongly Agree)
(alpha=.71, pretest; alpha=.78, posttest)
" TV and movies are a realistic source of information for what things
are popular.
" TV and movies are a realistic source of information for how people
my age act
" TV and movies are a realistic source of information for what makes
people popular.