Measuring influence in the family decision making process using an observational method

Many consumer behaviour researchers have concluded that using self reports in the measurement of influence in family decision making may provide data which is not reflective of actual influence among family members. This suggests the need for different methods of obtaining influence data. This paper reports the development and preliminary application of an observed influence scale; a scale developed to measure actual influence using content analysis of videotaped family interactions. This observational method determines the relative influence of family members over three stages of the decision making process. The scale is tested on nuclear families with two adolescents, 89 from New Zealand and 24 from Singapore. The analysis indicates the scale has strong predictive and face validity.