Measuring Attitudes Towards the Use of Nuclear Power: An Analysis of a Measurement Instrument

Schaefer, R.E., Swaton, E., & Niehaus, F. (1981). Measuring Attitudes Towards the Use of Nuclear Power: An Analysis of a Measurement Instrument. IIASA Working Paper. IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria: WP-81-024

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Abstract

A questionnaire was designed to obtain three independent measures of public attitudes towards energy systems, one of which is based on the concept developed by Fishbein.

A sample of 147 university students was examined to investigate the meaningfulness of a set of 30 items designed to capture attitudes towards the use of nuclear energy. High correlations were found to exist among all the attitude measures taken, which indicated the appropriate selection and formulation of the attributes used. Analysis of the belief factor scores of the questionnaire yielded four factors: Societal Risks, Economic Benefits, Safety Considerations and Technological Implications. Comparison of sub-groups, pro and con the use of nuclear energy, showed significant differences in their perceptions of the four categories of issues.

In addition, the Fishbein model was demonstrated to be insensitive to modifications of scaling as well as to the inclusion of an additional weighting parameter. A standard procedure for the data analysis is suggested.

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