Scale Overview
The Social Dominance Orientation – SDO was developed by Felicia Pratto, Jim Sidanius, Lisa M. Stallworth, Bertram F. Malle (1994). It is designed to measure Social Dominance Orientation. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 16 items.
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Very negative, 2 = Negative, 3 = Slightly negative, 4 = Neither positive nor negative, 5 = Slightly positive, 6 = Positive, 7 = Very positive.
The scale includes 8 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Item scores are averaged to produce a mean score.
Total scores range from 16 to 112. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Social Dominance Orientation: 16 – 48
- Moderate Social Dominance Orientation: 49 – 80
- High Social Dominance Orientation: 81 – 112
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.83.
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.