Measure Alienation‚ Anomia‚ and Authoritarianism
Alienation via Rejection
Streuning and Richardson 1965
1. These days a person doesn’t really know who he can count on.
2. There is not much chance that people will really do anything to make this country a better place to live in.
3. Success is more dependent on luck than real ability.
4. Nowadays a person has to live pretty much for today and let tomorrow take care of itself.
5. It is hard to figure out who you can really trust these days.
6. It’s hardly fair to bring children into the world with the way things look for the future.
7. In spite of what some people say‚ the lot of the average man is getting worse.
8. There’s little use writing to public officials because they aren’t really interested in the problems of the average man.
9. There are so many ideas about what is right and wrong these days that it is hard to figure out how to live your own life.
10.So many people do things well that it is easy to become discouraged.
11.Things are changing so fast these days that one doesn’t know what to expect from day to day.
12.Most people don’t realize how much their lives are controlled by plots hatched in secret by others.
13.Few people really look forward to their work.
14.Our country has too many poor people who can do little to raise their standard of living.
15.It is usually best to tell your superiors or bosses what they really want to hear.
16.It is almost impossible for one person to really understand the feelings of another.
17.People will do almost anything if the reward is high enough.
18.In this fast changing world‚ with so much different information available‚ it is difficult to think clearly about many issues.
19.Ideas that have no useful or practical application are of little use to man.
20.Too many people in our society are just out for themselves and don’t really care for anyone else.
21.The greatest ambition of most politicians is to be reelected.
22.There will always be a great lack of understanding between the older and younger generations.
23.There is hardly anyone lower than a person who does not feel a great love‚ gratitude and respect for his parents.
24.Every person should make a strong effort to improve his social position.
25.What youth needs most is strict discipline‚ rugged determination and the will to fight for family and nation.
26.Obedience and respect for authority should be the very first requirements of a good citizen.
27.The best way to get along in the world is to make careful plans for the future.
28.Old people deserve more respect than they get these days.
29.Almost anyone in our society can improve his standard of living if he is willing to work hard.
30.When a person has a problem or worry‚ it is best not to think about it‚ but to keep busy with more cheerful things.
31.There are many people who don’t know what to do with their lives.
32.Many people in our society are lonely and unrelated to their fellow human beings.
33.Many people are unhappy because they do not know what they want out of life.
34.In a society where almost everyone is out for himself‚ people soon come to distrust each other.
35.Everyone should have someone in his life whose happiness means as much to him as his own.
36.Parents often expect too much of their children.
37.Most people who complain of bad luck don’t realize how much they are the cause of it.
38.One should leave home and establish himself in the world as soon as possible.
39.A man should be allowed to make as much money as he can.
Items from Knapp‚ 1971
40.”My Country— right or wrong” is a principle to which every citizen should subscribe.
41.It was morally wrong for the United States to send combat troops to Viet Nam.
42.Those elected to public office hove to serve special interests (e .g. big business or labor) as well as the public’s interest.
43.The extent of a man’s ambition to better himself is a pretty good indication of his character.
44.The majority of riots on college campuses in this country are started by outside agitators.
45.In order to get elected to public office‚ a candidate must make promises he does not intend to keep.
46.In spite of the fast pace of modern living‚ it is easy to have many close friends that you can really count on.
47.In getting a job promotion‚ some degree of “apple polishing” is required.
48.A person who has bad manners‚ habits‚ and breeding can hardly expect to get along with decent people.
49.In order to merit the respect of others‚ a person should show the desire to better himself.
50.If people would talk less and work more‚ everybody would be better off.
51.In order to have a good income‚ a salesman must use high pressure salesmanship.
52.One of the things you should consider in choosing your friends is whether they can help you make your way in the world.
53.In getting a good paying job‚ it’s necessary to exaggerate one’s abilities (or personal merits).
54.The businessman and the manufacturer are much more important to society than the artist and the professor.
55.Science has its place‚ but there are many important things that can never possibly be understood by the human mind.
56.The decisions of our courts of justice ore just as fair to a poor man as to a wealthy man.
57.Every person should have complete Faith in some supernatural power whose decisions he obeys without question.
58.One can be successful in business without compromising moral principles.
59.Homosexuals are not criminals and should not be punished.
60.Young people sometimes get rebellious ideas‚ but as they grow up they ought to get over them and settle down.
61.Before joining any civic or political association‚ it is usually important to find out whether it has the backing of people who have achieved a respected social position.
62.People’s ideas change so much that I wonder if we’ll ever have anything to depend on.
63.Sometimes I feel all alone in the world.
Emotional distance (4 items)‚ Authoritarianism (8 items)‚ Purposelessness (6 items)‚ Self-determinism (5)‚ Family authority (6 items)‚ Trust and optimism (12 items)‚ Conventionality (4 items)‚ Religious orthodoxy (6 items)
1=Strongly agree; 2=Agree; 3=Not sure but probably agree; 4=Not sure but probably disagree; 5=Disagree; 6Strongly disagree
Alienation via Rejection (1-15‚ 17)‚ Emotional distance (16‚ 18‚ 22‚ 36)‚ Authoritarianism (19‚ 23-28‚ 30)‚ Purposelessness (20‚ 31- 35)‚ Self-determinism (21‚ 29‚ 37-39)‚ Family authority (6 items)‚ Trust and optimism (12 items)‚ Conventionality (4 items)‚ Religious orthodoxy (6 items)
This instrument can be found at: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/29187677.pdf & https://www.psc.isr.umich.edu/dis/infoserv/isrpub/pdf/Measuresofsocialpsychologicalattitudes_2928_.PDF
Struening‚ Elmer and Richardson‚ Arthur H. (1965). “A Factor Analytic Exploration of Alienation‚ Anomia and Authoritarisnsim Domain.” American Sociological Review‚ 30 (5): 768-776.
Robinson‚ John P.‚ Shaver‚ Phillip R. (1969). Measures of Political Attitudes. Institute for Social Research‚ University of Michigan/. Ann Arbor‚ Michigan.
Knapp‚ Ronald James. (1971). A factor analytic study of Alienation‚ Anomia‚ and Authoritarianism and their relationship to the tendency to Discriminate in a southern college population. Ohio State University‚ Doctoral dissertation.
Al Fozan‚ Abdulla Fozan. (1989). Social change and Alienation in Kuwait. University of Wales‚ Doctoral dissertation.