Gradational adjectives in market surveys

Abstract

Out of a survey directed to 800 credit managers, usable responses were received from 69, giving in each case a risk rating (good, fair, poor) for 42 occupations, and a definition of "good," "fair," and "poor" in terms of percent of defaults. "… the adjectives were not found to have as much variation as one might expect, and surprisingly little overlap was found to exist between the areas over which these variations extended. The model points of the definition of g, f, and p in terms of percentage of default are well-defined irrespective of the basis on which the definitions are interpreted… (and)… combination of the respondents' replies yields over-all credit ratings for the various occupations, the order of which tends to be largely invariant of the method of combination used." (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)