Commentary on Kerlinger's Structural Theory of Social Attitudes

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Abstract
Kerlinger's structural theory of attitudes is analyzed, and some of the implications of the theory are examined. Initially, Kerlinger's use of the available data to extend the theory to the realm of social attitudes is questioned. His use of the same pool of items with different subject populations is especially criticized. Moreover, his rejection of attitude unidimensionality and bipolarity is shown to be an artifact of his operational definition of attitudes which are defined as “sets of beliefs” rather than “affect toward an object.” It is also shown that his use of factor analysis to reject a competing model is not consistent with sound scientific principles. In terms of implications for attitude measurement, it is suggested that the relevance as well as the affect of items be assessed.

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