Response Scale Ambiguity as a Moderator of the Choice Shift

Abstract

The vast majority of choice shift inquiry employs choice dilemma (CD) items. In the main, responses to CD items are scaled by asking participants to report the odds of the risky response being successful before they would attempt it. Recent research challenges the validity of the odds scale. This article reports the results of two experiments that demonstrate that response scale ambiguity influences the interpretation of choice shift processes. Specifically, response scale ambiguity moderates the impact of social comparison and persuasive arguments processes. The former is more potent when the ambiguous odds scale is used, whereas the latter exerts a stronger impact when the less ambiguous Likert scale is employed.