6. The society needs to show openness towards people thinking differently, rather than a
strong leader, the world is not particularly evil or dangerous.
7. It would be best if newspapers were censored so that people would not be able to get hold of destructive and disgusting material.
8. Many good people challenge the state, criticize the church and ignore ‘‘the normal
way of living’’.
9. Our forefathers ought to be honored more for the way they have built our society, at the same time we ought to put an end to those forces destroying it.
10. People ought to put less attention to the Bible and religion, instead they ought to
develop their own moral standards.
11. There are many radical, immoral people trying to ruin things; the society ought to stop them.
12. It is better to accept bad literature than to censor it.
13. Facts show that we have to be harder against crime and sexual immorality, in order to uphold law and order.
14. The situation in the society of today would be improved if troublemakers were treated
with reason and humanity.
15. If the society so wants, it is the duty of every true citizen to help eliminate the evil that poisons our country from within.
49 APPENDIX C
Authoritarian-Conservatism-Traditionalism (ACT) Scale
Rated on a 9 point Likert rating scale (see below) -4: Very strongly disagree
-3: Strongly disagree -2: Somewhat disagree -1: Slightly disagree 0: Unsure/Neutral +1: Slightly agree +2: Somewhat agree +3: Strongly agree +4: Very strongly agree
Authoritarianism (“Authoritarian aggression”)
1. *Strong, tough government will harm not help our country. (R)
2. *Being kind to loafers or criminals will only encourage them to take advantage of your weakness, so it's best to use a firm, tough hand when dealing with them.
3. *Our society does NOT need tougher government and stricter laws. (R)
4. *The facts on crime and the recent public disorders show we have to crack down harder on troublemakers, if we are going preserve law and order.
5. *Our prisons are a shocking disgrace. Criminals are unfortunate people who deserve much better care, instead of so much punishment. (R)
6. *The way things are going in this country, it's going to take a lot of "strong medicine" to straighten out the troublemakers, criminals, and perverts.
7. We should smash all the negative elements that are causing trouble in our society. 8. The situation in our country is getting so serious, the strongest methods would be justified if they eliminated the troublemakers and got us back to our true path.
9. People who say our laws should be enforced more strictly and harshly are wrong. We need greater tolerance and more lenient treatment for lawbreakers. (R)
10. The courts are right in being easy on drug offenders. Punishment would not do any good in cases like these. (R)
11. What our country really needs is a tough, harsh dose of law and order. 12. Capital punishment is barbaric and never justified. (R)
Conservatism (“Authoritarian submission”)
1. *It's great that many young people today are prepared to defy authority. (R)
2. *What our country needs most is discipline, with everyone following our leaders in unity.
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3. *Students at high schools and at university must be encouraged to challenge, criticize, and confront established authorities. (R)
4. *Obedience and respect for authority are the most important virtues children should learn.
5. *Our country will be great if we show respect for authority and obey our leaders. 6. *People should be ready to protest against and challenge laws they don’t agree with. (R)
7. People should be allowed to make speeches and write books urging the overthrow of the government. (R)
8. The more people there are that are prepared to criticize the authorities, challenge and protest against the government, the better it is for society. (R)
9. People should stop teaching children to obey authority. (R)
10. The real keys to the "good life" are respect for authority and obedience to those who are in charge.
11. The authorities should be obeyed because they are in the best position to know what is good for our country.
12. Our leaders should be obeyed without questions. Traditionalism
1. *Nobody should stick to the "straight and narrow". Instead people should break loose and try out lots of different ideas and experiences. (R)
2. *The “old-fashioned ways” and “old-fashioned values” still show the best way to live.
3. *God’s laws about abortion, pornography, and marriage must be strictly followed
before it is too late.
4. *There is absolutely nothing wrong with nudist camps. (R)
5. *This country will flourish if young people stop experimenting with drugs, alcohol, and sex, and pay more attention to family values.
6. *There is nothing wrong with premarital sexual intercourse. (R)
7. Traditional values, customs, and morality have a lot wrong with them. (R)
8. Everyone should have their own lifestyle, religious beliefs, and sexual preferences, even if it makes them different from everyone else. (R)
9. The radical and sinful new ways of living and behaving of many young people may one day destroy our society.
10. Trashy magazines and radical literature in our communities are poisoning the minds of our young people. 11. It is important that we preserve our traditional values and moral standards.
12. People should pay less attention to the bible and the other old-fashioned forms of religious guidance, and instead develop their own personal standards of what is moral and immoral. (R)
51 APPENDIX D
Economic System Justification Scale
Indicate level of agreement or disagreement on a scale ranging from 1 to 9. (R): reversely scored
-4: Very strongly disagree -3: Strongly disagree -2: Somewhat disagree -1: Slightly disagree 0: Unsure/Neutral +1: Slightly agree +2: Somewhat agree +3: Strongly agree +4: Very strongly agree
1. If people work hard, they almost always get what they want.
2. The existence of widespread economic differences does not mean that they are inevitable (R).
3. Laws of nature are responsible for differences in wealth in society. 4. There are many reasons to think that the economic system is unfair (R). 5. It is virtually impossible to eliminate poverty.
6. Poor people are not essentially different from rich people (R).
7. Most people who don’t get ahead in our society should not blame the system; they have only themselves to blame.
8. Equal distribution of resources is a possibility for our society (R). 9. Social class differences reflect differences in natural order of things. 10. Economic differences in the society reflect an illegitimate distribution of
resources (R).
11. There will always be poor people, because there will never be enough jobs for everybody.
12. Economic positions are legitimate reflections of people’s achievements.
13. If people wanted to change the economic system to make things equal, they could (R).
14. Equal distribution of resources is unnatural.
15. It is unfair to have an economic system which produces extreme wealth and extreme poverty at the same time (R).
16. There is no point in trying to make income more equal.
17. There are no inherent differences between rich and poor; it is purely a matter of circumstance into which you are born (R).
52
APPENDIX E
Horizontal and Vertical Dimensions of Individualism and Collectivism
Scored on a 7 point Likert scale: 1: Strongly disagree
2: Moderately disagree 3: Slightly disagree
4: Neither disagree nor agree 5: Slightly agree
6: Moderately agree 7: Strongly agree
Horizontal Individualism
1. I’d rather depend on myself than others.
2. I rely on myself most of the time; I rarely rely on others. 3. I often do “my own thing.”
4. My personal identity, independent of others, is very important to me. Vertical Individualism
1. It is important that I do my job better than others. 2. Winning is everything.
3. Competition is the law of nature.
4. When another person does better than I do, I get tense and aroused. Horizontal Collectivism
1. If a coworker gets a prize, I would feel proud. 2. The well-being of my coworkers is important to me. 3. To me, pleasure is spending time with others. 4. I feel good when I cooperate with others. Vertical Collectivism
1. Parents and children must stay together as much as possible.
2. It is my duty to take care of my family, even when I have to sacrifice what I want. 3. Family members should stick together, no matter what sacrifices are required. 4. It is important to me that I respect the decisions made by my groups.
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APPENDIX F
General System Justification Scale
7 point Likert type response scale: 1: Strongly disagree
2: Moderately disagree 3: Slightly disagree
4: Neither disagree nor agree 5: Slightly agree
6: Moderately agree 7: Strongly agree Items:
1. In general, you find society is fair.
2. In general, the American political system does operate as intended. 3. American society is structured adequately.
4. The United States is the best country in the world to live in. 5. Most policies do serve the greater good.
6. Everyone does have a fair shot at wealth and happiness. 7. Our society does get worse every year.
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APPENDIX G
Social Dominance Orientation Scale
Scored on a Likert scale from 1 to 7 7: Extremely positive 6: Somewhat positive 5: Slightly positive 4: Neutral 3: Slightly negative 2: Somewhat negative 1: Extremely negative
Which of the following objects or statements do you have a positive or negative feeling towards?
1. We should strive to make incomes as equal as possible.* 2. Group equality should be our ideal.*
3. It's OK if some groups have more of a chance in life than others. 4. To get ahead in life, it is sometimes necessary to step on other groups. 5. We should do what we can to equalize conditions for different groups.*
6. It's probably a good thing that certain groups are at the top and others are at the bottom. 7. Inferior groups should stay in their place.
8. We would have fewer problems if groups were treated more equally.* 9. It would be good if groups could be equal.*
10. In getting what you want, it is sometimes necessary to use force against other groups. 11. All groups should be given an equal chance in life.*
12. If certain groups stayed in their place, we would have fewer problems. 13. We should strive for increased social equality.*
14. Sometimes other groups must be kept in their place. 15. Some groups of people are simply inferior to other groups. 16. No one group should dominate in society.*