Scale Overview
The Social Distance Scale (Taylor, 1960) was developed by Irving A. Taylor (1960). It is designed to measure Social Distance. The scale is intended for use with Adults aged 18 and older, including college students.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 10 items organized into 2 factors/subscales: Minority Group Acceptance, Authority Group Acceptance.
| Factor / Subscale |
Items |
N |
| Minority Group Acceptance |
2,3,5,7,8 |
5 |
| Authority Group Acceptance |
1,4,6,9,10 |
5 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = To close kinship by marriage, 2 = To my club as personal chums, 3 = To my street as neighbors, 4 = To employment in my occupation in my country, 5 = To citizenship in my country, 6 = As visitors to my country, 7 = Would exclude from my country.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 5 to 35. Interpretation guidelines:
- High Acceptance / Low Social Distance: 5 – 15
- Moderate Acceptance / Moderate Social Distance: 16 – 25
- Low Acceptance / High Social Distance (Exclusion): 26 – 35
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Contingency coefficient of 0.25 (corrected 0.37) between subscales.
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.