Acceptance of Others Scale (AOS)

Abstract

The Acceptance of Others Scale (AOS) is a psychological scale developed by W. F. Fey in 1955. It is designed to measure an individual’s general attitude toward other people, specifically assessing the degree to which a person holds positive or negative views of humanity collectively. The instrument is often studied alongside measures of self-acceptance, following Fey’s hypothesis regarding the relationship between self-acceptance and the acceptance of others. The scale is typically divided into two primary subscales: the core Acceptance of Others dimension (20 items) and the auxiliary Acceptability to Others dimension (5 items), reflecting perceived social inclusion.

Keywords

Acceptance of Others, Self-Acceptance, Interpersonal Relations, Social Attitudes, Psychological Measurement, Fey Scale, Social Inclusion, Social Psychology

Authors

W. F. Fey

Purpose

The primary purpose of the AOS is to provide a quantitative measure of an individual’s generalized attitude toward other people. Fey initially developed this scale to investigate the correlation between an individual’s acceptance of self and their acceptance of others, particularly in relation to psychological adjustment and responsiveness to therapeutic intervention. The scale assesses a person’s belief about the trustworthiness, moral standards, and general disposition of the public.

The instrument serves as a critical tool in personality and social psychology research for understanding how generalized cynicism or trust impacts social behavior and mental health outcomes. It operationalizes the concept of social acceptance as a measurable psychological trait.

Construct

The AOS measures the complex social psychological construct of Acceptance of Others. This construct reflects a generalized, relatively stable attitude concerning the nature of people—whether they are viewed as fundamentally good, trustworthy, and acceptable, or as cynical, self-centered, and untrustworthy. A high score on the main scale indicates a positive, accepting view of humanity.

A secondary, but highly related, construct measured is Acceptability to Others, which assesses the respondent’s perception of how well they are liked, respected, and included by their peers. Fey theorized that these two dimensions—one measuring attitude toward others and the other measuring perceived inclusion—are intrinsically linked to overall psychological health and adjustment, potentially indicating therapy-readiness.

Validity

Studies examining the validity of the AOS, particularly those conducted by Fey (1954, 1955) and subsequent researchers like Williams (1962), often focus on its concurrent validity with established measures of self-acceptance and psychological adjustment. High scores on the Acceptance of Others dimension are generally expected to correlate positively with measures of self-esteem and negatively with indicators of anxiety or maladjustment, supporting its construct validity within the framework of personality theory.

The scale demonstrates recognized face and content validity, as its items directly address generalized social attitudes (e.g., morality, trustworthiness, sociability). Its inclusion and continued use in major measurement compendiums, such as the 1969 collection compiled by Robinson and Shaver, further supports its historical research validity in studying social and political attitudes.

Reliability

While specific detailed psychometric data, such as internal consistency coefficients (e.g., Cronbach’s alpha), from the original 1955 publication are often not readily available, the scale’s reliability is generally supported by its sustained use in academic research over several decades. Williams’ 1962 replication study, which utilized the AOS, provided evidence supporting the stability of the relationship between self-acceptance and the acceptance of others, indirectly supporting the scale’s construct reliability.

The internal consistency of the longer, 20-item Acceptance of Others subscale is typically considered adequate for group-level research. Researchers utilizing the AOS today are encouraged to report contemporary reliability statistics relevant to their specific population samples, as item stability can vary across cultural and temporal contexts.

Factor Analysis

The structure of the AOS inherently suggests a two-factor model, reflecting the two distinct subscales presented by Fey. Factor analysis generally supports the differentiation between the primary factor, Acceptance of Others (measuring generalized attitudes toward humanity), and the secondary factor, Acceptability to Others (measuring perceived social standing). The items contributing to the Acceptance of Others factor tend to load heavily on cynicism, misanthropy, and generalized distrust.

Although these two factors are conceptually distinct—one being an attitude and the other a perception—they are often found to be highly correlated in empirical studies, reinforcing Fey’s original theoretical framework linking self-perception and attitudes toward the external world.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire

Format: Likert scale (5 points)

Language Available: English (Original)

Population Group: General population, widely used with adult samples in research settings.

Age Group: Adolescents and Adults (typically 18+)

Population Details: Primarily used with non-clinical populations for social, personality, and attitude research, particularly in university settings.

Test Methodology: Respondents rate their agreement with each statement using a 5-point scale. The scoring anchors range from 1= Almost always to 5= Very rarely. Items marked with an asterisk (*) are reverse-scored to ensure that a high total score uniformly reflects high acceptance. The two subscales (Acceptance of Others and Acceptability to Others) are scored independently.

Keywords

Acceptance of Others, Psychological Scale, Social Attitudes, Personality Assessment, W. F. Fey, Social Measurement, Adjustment, Likert scale

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not available (W. F. Fey, 1955)

Affiliation Email addresses: Not available

Correspondence Address: Correspondence related to original publications is typically directed to the institution W. F. Fey was affiliated with circa 1955.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was first formally published in 1955, following preliminary work in 1954. Given its origin and inclusion in public domain measurement resources, the AOS is generally considered free for use in non-commercial academic and research settings. No associated fee is typically required. Researchers are required to provide appropriate citation to the original Fey publications and subsequent key references, such as the Robinson and Shaver compendium.

Reference’s

• Fey, W.F. (1954). Acceptance of self and others, and its relation to therapy‐readiness. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 10(3), 269-271.
• Fey, W.F. (1955). Acceptance by others and its relation to acceptance of self and others: a revaluation. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 50(2), 274-276.
• Williams, J.E. (1962). Acceptance by others and its relationship to acceptance of self and others: A repeat of Fey’s study. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 65(6), 438-442.
• Robinson, John P., Shaver, Phillip R. (1969). Measures of Political Attitudes. Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan. Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The original PDF containing this instrument can be downloaded here: Measures of social psychological attitudes.

Items of the Acceptance of Others Scale (AOS)

Acceptance of Others

1. People are too easily led.
2. I like people I get to know.*
3. People these days have pretty low moral standards.
4. Most people are pretty smug about themselves‚ never really facing their bad points.
5. I can be comfortable with nearly all kinds of people.*
6. All people can talk about these days‚ it seems‚ is movies‚ TV‚ and foolishness like that.
7. People get ahead by using ‘pull‚’ and not because of what they know.
8. I f you once start doing favors for people‚ they’ll just walk all over you.
9. People are too self-centered.
10. People are always dissatisfied and hunting for something new.
11. With many people you don’t know how you stand.
12. You’ve probably got to hurt someone if you’re going to make something out of yourself.
13. People really need a strong‚ smart leader.
14. I enjoy myself most when I am alone‚ away from people.
15. I wish people would be more honest with you.
16. I enjoy going with a crowd.*
17. I n my experience‚ people are pretty stubborn and unreasonable.
18. I can enjoy being with people whose values are very different from mine.*
19. Everybody tries to be nice.*
20. The average person is not very well satisfied with himself.

Acceptability to Others

1. People are quite critical of me.
2. I feel ‘left out‚’ as if people don’t want me around.
3. People seem to respect my opinion about things.*
4. People seem to like me.*
5. Most people seem to understand how I feel about things.*

* Reversed item

1= Almost always to 5= Very rarely