Standardization & Justification: Do AadScales Measure Up?

Abstract Several previous reviews of Aad have noted that progress in understanding advertising's effects is hampered by the lack of a shared view of attitude structure. This study builds upon those reviews by focusing on two additional problems: measure standardization and justification. Examination of a decade-and-a-half's worth of research found 75 multi-item measures of Aad involving 53 different semantic differentials. A cluster analysis indicated that while three different groups of scales could be identified there was a low amount of standardization within clusters. Further, it was rare for authors to provide justification for their scales. Practical recommendations are provided about how these shortcomings can be addressed.