Attributions of Responsibility to God Scale – ARGS
Measures the extent to which individuals attribute positive life event outcomes to God, personal responsibility, luck, or personal effort.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Attributions of Responsibility to God Scale – ARGS was developed by Richard L. Gorsuch & Craig S. Smith (1983). It is designed to measure Religious Attributions of Responsibility. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 16 items organized into 4 factors/subscales: Personal Responsibility, Luck, Personal Effort, Attribution to God.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Responsibility | 1,5,9,13 | 4 |
| Luck | 2,6,10,14 | 4 |
| Personal Effort | 3,7,11,15 | 4 |
| Attribution to God | 4,8,12,16 | 4 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 0 = Not at all, 1 = 1, 2 = 2, 3 = 3, 4 = 4, 5 = 5, 6 = 6, 7 = 7, 8 = 8, 9 = 9, 10 = 10, 11 = Entirely.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Not reported.
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.