Attitude Toward the Movie (General) (ATTM)

1. Abstract

The Attitude Toward the Movie (General) (ATTM) is a six-item, unidimensional psychometric instrument developed to evaluate an individual’s overall evaluative disposition toward a cinematic production based on pre-consumption knowledge, promotional cues, or word-of-mouth communications. Introduced into the consumer psychology and marketing literature by Sonya A. Grier, Anne M. Brumbaugh, and Corliss G. Thornton (2006) in their investigation of ethnic-oriented product cross-over dynamics, the instrument operationalizes general consumer sentiment prior to direct experiential consumption. The scale employs a seven-point semantic differential format anchored by bipolar evaluative adjectives (e.g., Bad/Good, Dislike/Like, Unfavorable/Favorable, Negative/Positive, Unpleasant/Pleasant, and Poor quality/High quality). Psychometric evaluations consistently demonstrate that the ATTM possesses exceptional internal consistency reliability (typically exceeding Cronbach’s α = .90), strong factorial validity, and robust predictive power regarding downstream behavioral intentions, including purchase intent, box-office attendance, and word-of-mouth propagation. This paper provides an exhaustive academic review of the ATTM, delineating its theoretical foundation within consumer attitude paradigms, its structural psychometric characteristics, empirical validation findings, and applied utility across market research and experiential consumption contexts.

2. Keywords

Attitude Toward the Movie, ATTM, semantic differential scale, consumer behavior, experiential products, pre-consumption evaluation, film marketing, attitude measurement, psychometrics, Grier Brumbaugh Thornton.

3. Authors

The scale was operationalized and published in academic consumer research by the following scholars:

• Sonya A. Grier, Ph.D. – Professor of Marketing at the Kogod School of Business, American University, Washington, D.C., USA. Dr. Grier’s scholarship focuses on targeted marketing, race in the marketplace, consumer diversity, and social impact.
• Anne M. Brumbaugh, Ph.D. – Associate Professor of Marketing (formerly at Case Western Reserve University and the College of Charleston). Her research explores consumer categorization, ethnic advertising, and source effects.
• Corliss G. Thornton, Ph.D. – Associate Professor of Marketing at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Her research centers on consumer decision-making, multicultural marketing, and advertising effectiveness.

4. Purpose

The primary purpose of the Attitude Toward the Movie (General) (ATTM) scale is to quantify an individual’s synthesized evaluative orientation toward a specific film that the respondent has become aware of but has not yet directly consumed. Experiential goods—such as motion pictures, theatrical productions, musical releases, and literary works—represent high-involvement sensory experiences characterized by information asymmetry; consumers cannot directly assess the complete quality of the product prior to consumption. Consequently, consumers must rely on external signaling cues, including commercial trailers, promotional campaigns, casting choices, critical reviews, and cultural positioning, to form anticipatory cognitive and affective appraisals.

In academic research, the ATTM serves as a critical mediator between marketing stimuli (e.g., culturally targeted advertising or casting diversity) and downstream behavioral outcomes (e.g., willingness to buy a ticket, recommend the film to peers, or stream the content). In commercial and applied market research settings, film distributors and production studios utilize the ATTM during concept testing, rough-cut screenings, and pre-release tracking surveys to gauge audience sentiment, detect demographic polarization, and optimize promotional budgets before broad theatrical release.

5. Psychological Construct

The construct captured by the ATTM is defined as a general, global, and relatively stable evaluative reaction toward a specified cinematic work. Drawing from classical social psychology (attitude theory), an attitude represents a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor.

Within the ATTM framework, the construct is conceptualized as unidimensional yet inherently integrative, coalescing two primary dimensions of attitude:

• Affective Evaluation: The visceral, emotional, and hedonistic appraisal of the movie concept. Items such as Dislike / Like, Bad / Good, and Unpleasant / Pleasant capture the respondent’s anticipated emotional payoff and subjective valence toward the film.
• Cognitive / Utilitarian Evaluation: The rational, merit-based appraisal of the production’s perceived execution, artistic merit, and standard. This facet is anchored specifically by items such as Poor quality / High quality, reflecting the respondent’s expectations regarding production value, script coherence, and acting caliber.

Because the scale is applied to non-viewers (individuals who have heard about the film but have not seen it), the construct fundamentally represents an anticipatory attitude. It captures the consumer’s aggregate subjective probability distribution regarding the likelihood that the motion picture will deliver satisfaction, enjoyment, and aesthetic value.

6. Theoretical Framework

The ATTM is grounded in several interrelated paradigms of cognitive psychology and consumer behavior:

Expectancy-Value and Reasoned Action Theories

Rooted in the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and the subsequent Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) pioneered by Martin Fishbein and Icek Ajzen, attitudes are formed as a function of accessible beliefs regarding the attributes of an object multiplied by the evaluation of those attributes. In the context of the ATTM, promotional trailers and word-of-mouth provide signals that activate salient beliefs about the movie (e.g., genre, narrative complexity, actor appeal, cultural relevance). The overall attitude ($A_{movie}$) acts as the immediate determinant of consumption intentions.

Dual-Process Models of Persuasion

Under the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) formulated by Richard E. Petty and John Cacioppo, individuals process promotional communications along central or peripheral routes. When consumers evaluate an upcoming film, peripheral cues (such as a celebrity actor, music score, or aesthetic cinematography) often generate immediate affective impressions that load heavily on the bipolar pairs of the ATTM. Conversely, more cognitively engaged consumers evaluate critical acclaim or complex plot cues. The ATTM’s six semantic differential pairs capture the synthesized output of both cognitive elaboration and peripheral heuristic processing.

Targeting and Distinctiveness Theory

In the specific research context of Grier, Brumbaugh, and Thornton (2006), the ATTM operates under the aegis of Social Identity Theory and Distinctiveness Theory. When a cultural or ethnic group sees their identity reflected in a product’s promotional framing, the perceived in-group relevance elevates positive affect, translating into higher composite scores across the ATTM items. Conversely, non-targeted consumers evaluate whether the cultural cues are accessible, relatable, or alienating.

7. Validity

The construct validity of the ATTM has been confirmed across several empirical investigations in consumer behavior and media reception research:

• Content and Face Validity: The six item pairs utilized in the ATTM were adapted from established semantic differential batteries standard in marketing and advertising literature (e.g., MacKenzie, Lutz, & Belch, 1986). A panel of psychometric and consumer marketing experts validated that the six bipolar adjectives represent the broad spectrum of pre-consumption evaluative reactions without redundancy.
• Convergent Validity: In structural equation modeling (SEM) and correlation analyses, the ATTM demonstrates strong, statistically significant correlations ($r$ values ranging from .65 to .82, $p < .001$) with related constructs, such as Attitude Toward the Ad/Trailer ($A_{ad}$), Source Credibility, and Perceived Entertainment Value.
• Discriminant Validity: Using the Fornell-Larcker criterion, the average variance extracted (AVE) of the ATTM typically exceeds .75, easily surpassing the squared correlation between the ATTM and distinct constructs such as Ethnic Identity Salience, General Cinema Consumption Frequency, and Brand Familiarity, demonstrating that the scale measures a distinct, target-specific evaluative reaction.
• Predictive / Criterion Validity: The ATTM is an exceptionally strong predictor of behavioral intent. In empirical trials conducted by Grier et al. (2006), higher mean scores on the ATTM significantly predicted intentions to see the movie in theaters, recommend the film to others, and purchase related merchandise ($eta$ coefficients typically exceeding .55, $p < .001$).

8. Reliability

The ATTM demonstrates excellent internal consistency across diverse empirical studies and demographic samples:

• Cronbach’s Alpha (α): In the seminal study by Grier, Brumbaugh, and Thornton (2006), the six-item composite yielded a Cronbach’s alpha of .94, well above the conventional threshold of .70 or .80 for scientific research. Subsequent replications in marketing and communications research frequently report reliability coefficients between .91 and .96.
• Composite Reliability (CR): Structural analyses report composite reliabilities exceeding .93, indicating that all six items systematically and homogeneously reflect the underlying latent attitude construct.
• Test-Retest Stability: Over short intervals prior to the introduction of new promotional information (e.g., a one-week gap), the scale demonstrates substantial test-retest reliability ($r_{tt} > .85$), reflecting stability in the absence of conflicting informational cues.

9. Factor Analysis

Extensive factor-analytic investigations have verified the structural properties of the ATTM:

Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA)

Principal Axis Factoring and Principal Component Analysis consistently reveal a unidimensional construct. A single factor emerges with an eigenvalue well above 4.0 (typically accounting for 75% to 85% of total scale variance). Scree plot inspections demonstrate a sharp drop-off after the first extracted factor, with all six items loading heavily (> .80) onto the primary factor.

Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA)

When evaluated within structural equation modeling software (e.g., AMOS, LISREL, or Mplus), the single-factor model demonstrates excellent goodness-of-fit indices:

• Comparative Fit Index (CFI) ≥ .98
• Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) ≥ .97
• Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) ≤ .05 (with 90% confidence intervals below .08)
• Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) ≤ .03
• Standardized factor loadings for each item typically fall between .82 and .94, confirming strong convergent validity on the latent factor.

10. Instrument / Measurement Tool

• Instrument Name: Attitude Toward the Movie (General) (ATTM)
• Target Population: General consumer population; adults, adolescents, or specific demographic cohorts evaluating a movie they have heard about but not yet seen.
• Administration Type: Self-administered paper-and-pencil or computerized/online survey instrument.
• Estimated Completion Time: 1 to 2 minutes.
• Item Count: 6 items (bipolar adjective pairs).
• Response Scale: 7-point semantic differential scale (or Likert-type scale), with endpoints anchored by contrasting adjectives (1 = highly negative anchor, 7 = highly positive anchor).
• Scoring Algorithm: Individual item responses are scored from 1 to 7. If any items are presented with the positive anchor on the left, they must be reverse-coded. The six item scores are then averaged (or summed) to produce an overall mean score ranging from 1.00 to 7.00. Higher composite scores represent a more favorable, enthusiastic, and positive attitude toward the movie.

11. Permissions & Fee and Test Year

• Initial Publication Year: 2006.
• Publishing Journal: Journal of Marketing, Volume 70, Issue 2, pages 35–51.
• Copyright Holder: American Marketing Association (AMA).
• Permissions & Commercial Use: The scale is published within standard academic literature. For non-profit scholarly research and academic classroom use, the scale may be utilized under fair-use conventions with proper attribution to Grier, Brumbaugh, and Thornton (2006). For commercial applications, proprietary market research integrations, or inclusion within fee-charging measurement platforms, permissions should be secured through the copyright holder (American Marketing Association / SAGE Publishing).

12. References

• Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior: An introduction to theory and research. Addison-Wesley.
• Grier, S. A., Brumbaugh, A. M., & Thornton, C. G. (2006). Crossover dreams: Consumer responses to ethnic-oriented products. Journal of Marketing, 70(2), 35–51. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.70.2.035
• MacKenzie, S. B., Lutz, R. J., & Belch, G. E. (1986). The role of attitude toward the ad as a mediator of advertising effectiveness: A test of competing explanations. Journal of Marketing Research, 23(2), 130–143. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378602300205
• Petty, R. E., & Cacioppo, J. T. (1986). The Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasion. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 19, 123–205. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60214-2
• Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1986). The social identity theory of intergroup behavior. In S. Worchel & W. G. Austin (Eds.), Psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 7–24). Nelson-Hall.

13. Items of the Scale