Measures of Interpersonal Attraction: (Old versions, New ones forthcoming)
These are the original interpersonal attraction measures reported by McCroskey & McCain in 1974. They have been widely used by researchers in communication and psychology. Their alpha reliability estimates have ranged from the upper .70s to the upper .80s. New instruments are now being tested which hopefully will provide higher internal reliability estimates. These measures will be provided here as soon as they are available. The items for each of the measures are grouped together here. However, it is appropriate to randomly mix them for research purposes when collecting data.
Directions: The scales below are designed to indicate how attractive you find another person to be. Please indicate your perceptions of the attractiveness of "David Letterman." Please indicate the degree to which each statement applies to you by marking whether you:
Strongly Disagree = 1; Disagree = 2; Neutral = 3; Agree = 4; Strongly Agree = 5
_____1. I think he (she) could be a friend of mine.
_____2. I would like to have a friendly chat with her/him.
_____3. It would be difficult to meet and talk with him (her).
_____4. He (she) just wouldn't fit into my circle of friends.
_____5. We could never establish a personal friendship with each other.
_____6. He/she would be pleasant to be with.
_____7. I think he (she) is quite handsome (pretty).
_____8. He/she is somewhat ugly.
_____9. He (she) is very sexy looking
_____10. I find him (her) very attractive physically.
_____11. I don't like the way he (she) looks.
_____12. He/she is not very good looking.
_____13. He (she) is a typical goof off when assigned a job to do.
_____14. You could count on her/him getting the job done.
_____15. I have confidence in his (her) ability to get the job done.
_____16. If I wanted to get things done I could probably depend on him (her).
_____17. I couldn't get anything accomplished with him (her).
_____18. He/she would not be good to work with.
Scoring: To compute your scores, add your scores for each item as indicated below:
Recode items 3, 4, 5, 8, 11, 12, 13, 17, & 18 with the following format:
1 = 5
2 = 4
3 = 3
4 = 2
5 = 1
Add the six items for each form of attraction. Scores should range from 6 to 30.
Social Attraction (Items 1-6) _____
Physical Attraction (Items 7-12) _____
Task Attraction (Items 13-18) _____
NOTE: To measure the attractiveness of a different person, simply put in the other person's name in place of "David Letterman" above.
CAUTION: Do not add the scores for these three dimensions to get a total score. These are different dimension. Adding them together is similar to the proverbial adding of apples, oranges, and watermelons.
Source:
McCroskey, J. C., & McCain, T. A. (1974). The measurement of interpersonal attraction. Speech Monographs, 41, 261-266.