Various Social Attitude Scales (VSAS)

A: My progress toward the goals of success I set for myself has been disappointing. vs. B: I feel that I have made significant progress toward the goals of success I set for myself.

A: The conception I now have of myself is more complimentary than the conception I have had in the past. vs. B: I now have a less complimentary conception of myself than I have had in the past.

A: In determining how others feel about me, I am not confident in my ability to do so. vs. B: I am confident of my ability to ascertain how others feel about me.

A: Knowing the evaluations of myself by others is important for the way I see myself. vs. B: The way I see myself does not depend upon my knowing the evaluations of me by others.

A: In a given situation, I am inadequate in telling how others perceive me. vs. B: It is my feeling that I am able adequately to tell how others perceive me in a given situation.

A: I tend to identify myself in terms of the reactions of others toward me. vs. B: The way others react toward me does not influence the way I tend to react toward those others.

A: The way I play my role in a given social situation is dependent upon how I conceive myself. vs. B: In a given social situation, the way I play my role is dependent upon how others conceive me.

A: My self conception is not shaped by factors external to the given social situation in which I am playing a role. vs. B: The conception I have of myself is shaped by the way I play my role in a given social situation.

A: Schools and colleges should teach their students to accept their morals of society and to adjust themselves to community life. vs. B: The primary purpose of education is to make the student independent and to help him develop his own conceptions of life, morals and values.

A: Since man is basically evil he must be taught to accept society and his innate spontaneity must be constrained by regulations. vs. B: Man is fundamentally good and will always develop his good faculties under positive environmental conditions.

A: Good and evil are values which are determined by society or religious concepts. vs. B: Man should consider all moral values in relation to himself; he alone is the standard (of judgment) of good and evil.

A: The U.S.A. places great emphasis on developing people who are well-adjusted to society and who take an active responsible role in social life. vs. B: The U.S.A. encourages a self-dependent, and individualistic attitude towards life.

A: The integrated person is capable of getting along by himself and avoids unnecessary social contacts. vs. B: A well-adjusted and mature person seeks and enjoys social contacts and likes to affiliate with others.

A: Mature persons use their individual aspirations alone as a standard of self-evaluation. vs. B: The only way to attain appropriate self-evaluation is by comparing one's self with the community in which one lives.

A: Fraternity life is too dominant because it does not give students a chance to stand entirely on their own feet, to get a real estimation of themselves and to develop their own social relations. vs. B: Fraternities and sororities are very positive because they help students who are away from home for the first time to get adjusted to the new form of life.

A: There are no basic values worth striving for except those which come from the individual himself. vs. B: Man should strive to meet fundamental values which are pointed out by society and religion.

A: 'A loaf of bread, a jug of wine...' this epitomizes all the material requirements for personal happiness. vs. B: 'A loaf of bread and a jug of wine' may have been alright for someone who hasn't known anything else, but let's face it; in twentieth century America we approach happiness as the carpet gets thicker and the steaks less 'rare'.

A: My philosophy is: to have or to have not is the question, and if I'm lucky enough to have, I'm going to enjoy it. vs. B: To have wealth and material goods is not more conducive to happiness than to have debts and cancer.

A: An orderly, uncluttered house and a well-kept lawn will be important features of my future home. vs. B: I'm frankly not really interested in how my physical surroundings will be disposed in my future home.

A: The joys which wealth and material possessions bring are superficial and short-term as compared to the real joys in life. vs. B: The only people who can say 'money can't buy happiness' are those who never had a chance to try.

A: A society that worships such extravagances as 'golf mobiles' and all electric kitchens is indeed a 'sick' society. vs. B: If things were such that everybody in the world had stereophonic record players and champagne, wars would probably be obsolete.

A: To conjecture upon the size of one's starting salary when leaving college is a natural tendency on the part of a modern college student. vs. B: A person with a 'healthy' value system rarely if ever reflects on his future salary.

A: Neatness and physical appearance of my like-sexed friends are entirely accidental in terms of my associations. vs. B: Important determinants in my choice of like-sexed friends in my living group at college are physical attractiveness and stylishness of dress.

A: A place for everything and everything in its place is a good maxim to abide by. vs. B: Although cleanliness is important in material things, order, per se, bores me.

A: Confidence in others is seldom misplaced. vs. B: If you leave yourself open to being hurt, you probably will be.

A: People would rather help than hurt one another. vs. B: In this dog-eat-dog world, you can't trust anyone.

A: Working for others is a situation of basic insecurity. vs. B: Friends and co-workers are the best security that a person can have.

A: Faith in others is essential for survival these days. vs. B: Having faith in others is just asking for trouble.

A: If an acquaintance asks to borrow money, it is better to try to avoid lending it. vs. B: Being able to help those in need is part of the joy of living.

A: The golden rule is still the best rule to live by. vs. B: Nice guys finish last.

A: You can't beat city hall. vs. B: Where there's a will there's a way.

A: There's no place for friendship in business. vs. B: Business' first function is to meet a social need.

A: It's a good idea to look around for a place to settle but there's nothing like setting one's roots in one spot. vs. B: When it comes to what I do in my spare time I don't pay much attention to what people might think.

A: I don't care to know people unless there is something to the person. vs. B: I judge a man by who he is more than I do by what kind of person he is.

A: It's best to join clubs where there are people most like yourself. vs. B: It's best to know a few selected people than a lot of them.

A: News from home seems more meaningful than other news found in the newspaper. vs. B: In order to better himself and his family, a man sometimes has to give up some of his friends.

A: In general, it is preferable reading daily newspapers than magazines. vs. B: If a person gets tired of people he's known for years he should stop seeing them.

A: Joining such clubs as the Elks and Kiwanis is preferable over such clubs as debate and cultural ones. vs. B: One of the best ways to judge a man is by his success in his job or career.

A: The findings of science may someday show that many of our most deeply-held beliefs are wrong. vs. B: If given a choice between an American good or item and a foreign one, I would select the American good even if the foreign good was slightly cheaper.

A: People ought to pay more attention to new ideas, even if they seem to go against the American way of life. vs. B: It is best to borrow needed funds from close friends or one's family than from a bank or loan firm.

A: The important thing for the U.S. foreign aid program is to see to it that poor countries benefit. vs. B: The important thing for the U.S. foreign aid program is to see to it that the U.S. gains a political advantage.

A: If the U.S. policy of regional blocs of countries protects the member states, it is a good policy. vs. B: If the U.S. policy of regional blocs of countries creates difficult world conditions for small neutral countries, it is a bad policy.

A: The laws of the United States should be used as a model for developing international laws. vs. B: International laws should be developed out of the laws of all nations.

A: U.S. foreign trade is desirable if it raises the standard of living of all countries involved in the trades. vs. B: U.S. foreign trade is desirable if it raises the U.S. standard of living.

A: A U.S. citizen must remember his duty to his country whatever the international issue. vs. B: The position a U.S. citizen takes on an international issue should depend on how much good it does for how many people in the world, regardless of their nation.

A: The United States should abide by United Nations decisions, whether it agrees with them or not. vs. B: The United States should abide by United Nations decisions only if it agrees with them.

A: It will be all right if Communism replaces capitalism if it means a better life for most people in the world. vs. B: Capitalism must be defended against attack.

A: Countries needing our agricultural surpluses should pay for them instead of getting something for nothing. vs. B: Countries needing our agricultural surpluses should get them free if we cannot use them.