Dogmatism Scale – Form E (D-Scale)
Assesses individual differences in openness or closedness of belief systems, general authoritarianism, and general intolerance.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Dogmatism Scale – Form E (D-Scale) was developed by Milton Rokeach (1960). It is designed to measure Dogmatism. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 40 items organized into 2 factors/subscales: Belief-Disbelief, Central-Peripheral.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Belief-Disbelief | 1,2,3,4 | 4 |
| Central-Peripheral | 5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40 | 36 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = I disagree very much, 2 = I disagree on the whole, 3 = I disagree a little, 5 = I agree a little, 6 = I agree on the whole, 7 = I agree very much.
Scoring
Items are summed to produce a total score.
Total scores range from 40 to 280. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Dogmatism (Open-minded): 40 – 120
- Moderate Dogmatism: 121 – 200
- High Dogmatism (Closed-minded): 201 – 280
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.78 – 0.81.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.