Dogmatism Scale (DS)
Rokeach‚ 1960
1. A person who thinks primarily of his own happiness is beneath contempt.
2. The main thing in life is for a person to want to do something important.
3. In a discussion I often find it necessary to repeat myself several times to make sure I am being understood.
4. Most people just don’t know what’s good for them.
5. In times like these‚ a person must be pretty selfish if s/he considers his or her own happiness primarily.
6. A man who does not believe in some great cause has not really lived.
7. I’d like it if I should find someone who would tell me how to solve my personal problems.
8. Of all the different philosophies which have existed in this world there is probably only one which is correct.
9. It is when a person devotes him/herself to an ideal or cause that his/her life becomes meaningful.
10.In this complicated world of ours the only way we can know what is going on is to rely upon leaders or experts who can be trusted.
11.There are a number of persons I have come to hate because of the things they stand for.
12.There is so much to be done and so little time to do it in.
13.It is better to be a dead hero than a live coward.
14.A group which tolerates too much difference of opinion among its own members cannot exist for long.
15.It is only natural that a person should have a much better acquaintance with ideas s/he believes in than with ideas he opposes.
16.While I don’t like to admit this even to myself‚ I sometimes have the ambition to become a great man‚ like Einstein‚ or Beethoven‚ or Shakespeare. [my secret ambition is to become a great person like Einstein‚ Beethoven or Shakespeare]
17.Even though freedom of speech for all groups is a worthwhile goal‚ it is unfortunately necessary at times to restrict the freedom of certain political groups.
18.If a man is to accomplish his mission in life it is sometimes necessary to gamble “all or nothing at all.”
19.Most people just don’t give a “damn” about others.
20.A person who gets enthusiastic about a number of causes is likely to be a pretty “wishy-washy” sort of person.
21.To compromise with our political opponents is dangerous because it usually leads to the betrayal of our own side.
22.If given the chance I would like to do something that would be of great benefit to the world.
23.In times like these it is often necessary to be more on guard against ideas put out by certain people or groups in one’s own camp than by those in the opposing camp.
24.In a heated discussion I generally become so absorbed in what I am going to say that I forget to listen to what the others are saying.
25.Once I get wound up in a heated discussion I just can’t stop.
26.There are two kinds of people in this world: those who are on the side of truth and those who are against it.
27.Man on his [A person on his/her] own is a helpless and miserable creature.
28.The United States and Russia have just about nothing in common.
29.In the history of mankind there have probably been just a handful of really great thinkers.
30.The highest form of government is a democracy and the highest form of democracy is a government run by those who are most intelligent.
31.The present is all too often full of unhappiness. It is the future that counts.
32.Unfortunately‚ a good many people with whom I have discussed important social and moral problems don’t really understand what is going on.
33.Fundamentally‚ the world we live in is a pretty lonely place.
34.It is often desirable to reserve judgment about what’s going on until one has had a chance to hear the opinions of those one respects.
35.The worst crime a person can commit is to attack publicly the people who believe in the same thing he does.
36.In the long run the best way to live is to pick friends and associates whose tastes and beliefs are the same as one’s own.
37.Most of the ideas which get published nowadays aren’t worth the paper they are printed on. [Most of the ideas which get printed or screened nowadays aren’t worth anything.]
38.It is only natural for a person to be rather fearful of the future.
39.My blood boils whenever a person stubbornly refuses to admit he’s wrong.
40.When it comes to differences of opinion in religion we must be careful not to compromise with those who believe differently from the way we do.
I agree very much‚ I agree on the whole‚ I agree a little‚ I disagree a little‚ I disagree on the whole‚ and I disagree very much
Or
1=Strongly agree‚ 2=Agree‚ 3=Slightly agree‚ 4=Neither agree nor disagree‚ 5=Slightly disagree‚ 6=Disagree‚ 7=Strongly disagree
This instrument can be found at: http://arizona.openrepository.com/arizona/bitstream/10150/284376/1/azu_td_5906119_sip1_m.pdf
Rokeach‚ M. (1960). The open and closed mind. New York: Basic Books.
Dileo‚ Becker G. (1967). Scores on Rokeach’s Dogmatism Scale and the response set to present a positive social and personal image. J Soc Psychol‚ 71(2)‚287-93.
Vacchiano‚ R. B.‚ Strauss‚ P. S.‚ & Hochman‚ L. (1969). The open and closed mind: A review of dogmatism. Psychological Bulletin‚ 71(4)‚ 261-273.
Gulo‚ E. Vaughn.‚ Lynch‚ Mervin D. (1973). Evidence on the Validity of the Rokeach Dogmatism Scale (DS) Form E. College Student Journal‚ 7(3)‚ 62-67.
Price‚ Fiona Swee-Lin. (2000). Intercultural contact‚ ethnocentrism and the mediating role of epistemology. University of Melbourne‚ Doctoral Dissertation.