Developmental differences in children's use of rating scales

Objective: To examine the effect of child age and number of response choices on children's tendency to respond at the extremes of Likert-type scales rating emotional states. Methods: Sixty children (5-6 years, 7-9 years, 10-12 years) were randomly assigned to use either three or five response choices in providing ratings in three different task conditions. Tasks were designed to have correct choices at the midpoints of the rating scales. Children also completed a self-report feelings questionnaire. Results: Results showed that younger children responded in an extreme manner when rating emotion-based, but not physical, tasks. Children's extreme scores did not vary as a function of number of response choices used. More extreme scores on the three tasks were related to more extreme scores on the feelings questionnaire. Conclusions: These results indicate that young children may respond in an extreme manner when rating emotional states. Researchers and clinicians should take this into account when interpreting children's self-report ratings.