Effort- and Valence-Based Just World Beliefs Scales – Chinese Version (EV-BJW)
Measures beliefs that individual efforts lead to rewards and that positive or negative valence attributes lead to corresponding outcomes.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Effort- and Valence-Based Just World Beliefs Scales – Chinese Version (EV-BJW) was developed by Cheng, Yuan; Nudelman, Gabriel; Otto, Kathleen; Ma, Jianhong (2023). It is designed to measure Just World Beliefs. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 9 items organized into 2 factors/subscales: Effort-based belief in a just world (E-BJW), Valence-based belief in a just world (V-BJW).
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Effort-based belief in a just world (E-BJW) | 1,2,3,4,5 | 5 |
| Valence-based belief in a just world (V-BJW) | 6,7,8,9 | 4 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Strongly disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Somewhat disagree, 4 = Neither agree nor disagree, 5 = Somewhat agree, 6 = Agree, 7 = Strongly agree.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 9 to 63. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low belief in a just world: 9 – 27
- Moderate belief in a just world: 28 – 45
- High belief in a just world: 46 – 63
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of E-BJW α = .85, V-BJW α = .85.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 3 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.