Affective Polarization Scale – APS
Measures affective polarization towards a political outgroup across dimensions of social distance, aversion, and incivility.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Affective Polarization Scale – APS was developed by McMurtrie, B., Philipp, M., Hebden, R., & Williams, M. (2024). It is designed to measure Affective Polarization. The scale is intended for use with Adults (18 years and older).
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 15 items organized into 3 factors/subscales: Social distance, Aversion, Incivility.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Social distance | 1,2,3,4,5 | 5 |
| Aversion | 6,7,8,9,10 | 5 |
| Incivility | 11,12,13,14,15 | 5 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Strongly disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Neither agree nor disagree, 4 = Agree, 5 = Strongly agree.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 15 to 75. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Affective Polarization: 15 – 35
- Moderate Affective Polarization: 36 – 55
- High Affective Polarization: 56 – 75
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Cronbach's alpha ranged from .90 to .94 for factors, and .96 for the total scale..
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.