Radicalism-Conservatism Scale
Comrey and Newmeyer 1965
Form A
Religiosity
1. Every child should have religious instruction.
2. God exists‚ in the form in which the Bible describes him.
3. This country would be better off if religion had a greater influence in daily life.
4. All people alive today are the descendants of Adam and Eve.
Pacifism
5. This country should disarm regardless of whether or not other countries do.*
6. I f my country had been destroyed‚ I still would not push the button to wipe out the attacking enemy nation. *
7. Our country should be engaged constantly in research to develop superior weapons for our national defense.
Welfarism
8. The average man today is getting less than his rightful share of our national wealth.*
9. The government should guarantee every citizen enough to eat.*
Anti-unionism
10.Many large unions have officers with criminal records.
11.Most unions do not elect officers by honest‚ secret ballot elections.
Weak Federal Government
12.Central government should run only those things which cannot be run effectively at the local level.
13.The federal government has too much power over citizen s and local government.
14.Greater decentralization of power would be better for this country.
15.A greater degree of government control over business would result in a weakening of this country’s economy.
Moral Censorship
16.If a man is showing a sex movie to friends in his own home‚ the police should stop it.
17.Every city should prevent the Bale of objectionable books.
18.Sexual relation s between unmarried people should be illegal.
19.The police should hunt down homosexuals and put them in jail.
Contraception
20.Abortion should be legalized.*
Racial Tolerance
21.Employers should be prevented by law from hiring only people of their own race.*
Severe Treatment of Criminals
22.Criminals convicted of three separate felonies should never be released.
23.In our country‚ the sentences handed out to criminals are usually too light.
Capital Punishment
24.A mentally ill man who attacks and kills a little girl should be executed.
25.A gunman who kill s someone in an armed robbery should receive the death sentence.
Service to Country
26.Every able bodied male should willingly serve for a period of time in his country’s military service.
27.A man who is ready to die for his country deserves the highest honor.
World Government
28.The United States should work peacefully for a strong world government.
29.The United States should be willing to surrender some of its rights to strengthen the United Nations
Service to the Individual
30.Laws which benefit the people are more important than laws which strengthen the nation.
Form B
Religiosity
1. School teachers should believe in God.
2. It should be against the law to do anything which the Bible says is wrong.
3. Moses got the ten commandments directly from God.
4. All the miracles described in the Bible really happened.
Pacifism
5. Under no circumstances should our country use nuclear bombs against anybody.*
6. I would rather have a foreign power take over our country than s t a r t another world war to stop it.*
7. Our country should prepare to employ every available weapon to destroy any major power that seriously attacks us.
Welfarism
8. It is the responsibility of the government to take care of people who can’t take care of themselves.*
9. If the government must go deeper in debt to help people‚ it should do so.*
Anti-unionism
10.Most unions try to prevent the efficient use of labor.
11.Many union leaders use threats and violence to keep themselves i n power.
Weak Federal Government)
12.The federal government should not interfere in the affairs of Individual states unless absolutely necessary.
13.The strength of this country today is largely a product of the free enterprise system.
14.Regulation of business by government usually does more harm than good.
15.When something is run by the government‚ it is apt to be inefficient and wasteful.
Moral Censorship
16.Motion pictures which offend any sizeable religious group should be banned.
17.Public libraries should contain only books which are morally sound.
18.A woman who has sexual relation s with a man for money should go to jail.
19.More restrictions should be imposed to prevent young people from having sexual relations before marriage.
Contraception
20.Birth control devices should be made readily available to anyone who wants to use them.*
Racial Tolerance
21.Marriages between persons of different races should be socially acceptable.*
Severe Treatment of Criminals
22.Teenage hoodlums should be punished severely.
23.Our laws give too much protection to criminals
Capital Punishment
24.A dictator who orders the extermination of thousands of innocent people should be executed for his crimes.
25.Someone who plans and carries out the murder of his or her spouse should be executed.
Service to Country
26.If called upon to do so‚ a citizen should be willing to sacrifice his life for his country.
27.Patriotism is one of the great virtues.
World Government
28.The United States eventually should give up its military power to a strong world government.*
29.Present nations should become states within an all powerful world government.
Service to the Individual
30.The welfare of the Individual Is more important than ) the welfare of the country.
(*Reversed item)
1 (agree very strongly) to 9 (disagree very strongly)
This instrument can be found at: https://www.psc.isr.umich.edu/dis/infoserv/isrpub/pdf/Measuresofsocialpsychologicalattitudes_2928_.PDF
Comrey‚ A. and Newmeyer‚ J. (1965).Measurement of radicalism-conservatism. Journal of Social Psychology‚ 67‚ 357-369.
Robinson‚ John P.‚ Shaver‚ Phillip R. (1969). Measures of Political Attitudes. Institute for Social Research‚ University of Michigan/. Ann Arbor‚ Michigan