Assessment, Statistics, and Research

 Davis developed a two dimensional approach to assess empathy with items measuring perspective taking and empathic concern. Each item is measured on a five-point scale from 0 to 4. The anchor labels are "Does not describe me well" to "Describes me well." Some items are reversed scored. There are 7 perspective taking items and 7 empathic concern items. Related posts       Empathy       Perspective taking Resource Link:  A – Z Test Index Article Reference Davis, M. H. (1983). Measuring individual differences in empathy: Evidence for a multidimensional approach. Journal of personality and social psychology, 44 (1), 113. Link to the scales:  https://ogg.osu.edu/media/documents/MB%20Stream/PT%20and%20EC.pdf Resource Link:  A – Z Test Index If you are working on a survey or questionnaire, consider  Creating Surveys on AMAZON    or   GOOGLE  Worldwide Links to Connections   Checkout My Website  ...

  It is no secret that the official position of the Catholic church opposes abortion. Many evangelicals groups also promote antiabortion positions. The subject of abortion continues to divide Americans as evident in survey data. This has been highlighted recently with the addition of Justice Barrett to the Supreme Court—a judge known for her prolife advocacy. In the summer, Justice Thomas famously attacked the court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade ( CNN ). In 2020, most Americans, the majority of whom are Christian, support abortion, though sizable percentages prefer laws that pose some limitations. Some important questions are not asked every year so, some data in the 2020 post refer to 2019, 2018, etc. The Gallup organization has looked at variations in opinions about abortion. This is helpful as advances in medical science make it possible for the unborn to live outside the womb at younger and younger ages. So, where do Americans stand on abortion? 79% support a legal aborti...

 T he Biblical Literalism Scale (BLS) is a 10-item scale found in an article by Andrew Village (2005). The content of the scale includes biblical events rated by participants on a scale as follows: ‘definitely happened’, ‘probably happened’, ‘not certain’, ‘probably a story’ or ‘definitely a story.’ High scores indicated a more literal belief. Findings : The survey sample consisted of 404 Christian participants. Scores ranged from 10 (all of the items were rated as stories) to 50 (all items rated as “definitely happened”). Old Testament items were rated as less literal than New Testament items. The average scores were highest in Evangelical churches and lowest in Anglo-Catholic churches. Correlation of scores with other variables BLS and frequent charismatic experience ( r = .51) (note a) BLS and frequent Bible reading ( r = .47) (note b) BLS and age ( r = -.17) BLS and education ( r = -.14) Women scored only slightly higher on (39.8) literalism than did me...

There are a few scales that measure the Big Five Personality Traits. One acronym is the word OCEAN. Each letter refers to the first letter of a Big Five personality trait. Scientific studies by Paul Costa and Robert McCrae (1998) established a basis for the five factors known by the acronym OCEAN , which I refer to below. See Big Five Personality Theory for more details and references.   O- Openness to experience includes curiosity, imagination, and creativity. People high in this trait appreciate complexity and originality and enjoy new experiences.   C- Conscientiousness describes behavior patterns of self-control and acting in socially acceptable ways. People high in conscientiousness are dependable, work within rules, plan and organize effectively, and have a strong degree of gratification.    E- Extroversion   (aka extraversion) is often considered along with introversion. In a sense, the dimension identifies where a person finds their energy....

  This color chart by Pew Research   published 10 September 2020, reveals a useful way to depict split opinions of a study. Here are a few observations: 1. Color coding the groups makes it easy to detect the differences. 2. Limiting the chart to 4 items makes it easy to see what's going on. If there were more items, a separate chart and text would be better. 3. The anchor points along a line provide visual evidence of the divide. 4. The "All voters" column on the right shows how useless an average would be to understand what is going on in a society (in this case, the US). Learn more about Creating Surveys in my book, Creating Surveys on AMAZON at many of their worldwide bookstores. Only $9.99 for the Kindle Edition Links to Connections My Page      www.suttong.com    My Books   AMAZON           and             GOOGLE STORE   F...

 A two-part Racism Scale has some intriguing wording to promote self-evaluation and identify change. There are no psychometric data on the website but it is popular and has been revised several times. I think researchers could easily quantify the measuring bars on each scale and use this to identify group averages, trends, and changes following interventions. Please post a link if you see the scale in a peer-reviewed publication or professional conference. Read more about the psychology of race and racism. You can download a copy of the scale in pdf format from the website -here is the link to the website:  https://racismscale.weebly.com/ Following is a photo of the scale: If you are considering a survey project, please take a look at my book, Creating Surveys on AMAZON Cite this blog Sutton, G.W. (2020, August 15). Racism scale. Assessment, Statistics, & Research . https://statistics.suttong.com/2020/08/racism-scale.html Read more about the psychology of prejudice and d...

The  Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI)  can be found in a publication by Peter Glick and Susan T. Fiske (1996). The scale is not a general sexism inventory. Instead, the ASI measures sexist attitudes toward women using two subscales: Hostile Sexism and Benevolent Sexism.  Hostile sexism  is the familiar negative prejudice that overtly harms women. The analysis suggested a unitary construct marked by dominance or women.      Example:  Most women interpret innocent remarks or acts as being sexist. Benevolent sexism  is also harmful but is not always recognized by men. Three components are Protective paternalism, Complementary Gender Differentiation, and Heterosexual Intimacy.      Example: Women, compared to men, tend to have a superior moral sensibility. Men who are sexist in this dual sense do not appear to experience tension. For example, they may view women as incompetent for certain work yet feel women ought to b...