Attributions of Responsibility to God Scale – ARGS
Measures the extent to which individuals attribute life event outcomes to personal responsibility, luck, effort, or divine intervention.
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 Attribution. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 16 items organized into 4 factors/subscales: Responsibility, Luck, Effort, Attribution to God.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Responsibility | 1,5,9,13 | 4 |
| Luck | 2,6,10,14 | 4 |
| 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.
Total scores range from 0 to 44. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Attribution: 0 – 11
- Moderate-Low Attribution: 12 – 22
- Moderate-High Attribution: 23 – 33
- High Attribution: 34 – 44
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.