1. Dogmatism updated: a scale revision and validation
- Author
-
Shearman, Sachiyo M. and Levine, Timothy R.
- Subjects
Personality tests -- Evaluation ,Dogmatism -- Psychological aspects ,Dogmatism -- Social aspects ,Dogmatism -- Research ,Examinations -- Validity ,Examinations -- Research ,Education - Abstract
Dogmatism represents an individual difference in cognitive style characterized by closed-mindedness. The concept of dogmatism has received a great deal of research attention in such topics as information selection, information processing, message selection, and source-message distinction. Previous dogmatism scales, however, have psychometric problems, and item wordings have become outdated. The present study updates the scale items based on a simplified conceptualization of dogmatism and assesses the validity of the new scale. Factor analyses and item analyses were employed to assess the unidimensionality of the scale. Two validation studies (N = 165 for study 1; N = 175 for study 2) were conducted. Both studies provided evidence consistent with construct validity. The updated dogmatism correlated positively with dominance and submission and negatively with perspective-taking and empathic concern. The predictive validity of the scale was only partially consistent with the data. Keywords: Closed-mindedness; Cognitive Style; Construct Validity; Dogmatism; Scale Construction
- Published
- 2006