A Survey of Age and Attitudes toward Computers

Abstract

This study examines the relationships between age, education, sex, and household income, and attitudes toward computers. An eight-item Likert scale was developed to measure the attitudes (the “Computer Orientation Scale”). The Spearman-Brown coefficient for the scale is .733; Alpha is .728. Regression analysis revealed that sex and household income had no direct effect on the attitude variable. Age and education however, showed direct effects on computer attitudes. In addition, age was indirectly linked through education. The data were collected by interviews with a large, randomly selected phone sample (N = 380). The sample was chosen by a computer program which makes selections on the basis of the proportion of blocks and exchanges in service in the sampling area. The study was conducted during the Autumn of 1986, throughout the Muncie/Delaware County area of East-Central Indiana, a.k.a. Middletown, U.S.A.