Nettler’s Alienation

Abstract

The Nettler’s Alienation scale, developed by Gwyn Nettler in 1957, is one of the earliest and most influential instruments designed to measure alienation as a sociological and social-psychological construct. It aims to quantify an individual’s sense of detachment, powerlessness, and meaninglessness in relation to core societal institutions, cultural norms, and conventional values in Western society. The original scale consisted of 17 items, later modified, which tap into four primary dimensions: politicism, religiosity, familism, and attitude toward mass culture. This instrument was pivotal in establishing empirical methods for studying sociological detachment and paved the way for subsequent measures of social isolation and anomie.

Keywords

Alienation, Sociological Measurement, Social Psychology, Mass Culture, Political Attitudes, Familism, Religiosity, Social Detachment

Authors

Nettler, G.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Nettler’s Alienation scale is to provide an empirical measure of the theoretical concept of sociological alienation. Nettler sought to move beyond abstract philosophical definitions by creating a quantifiable assessment of an individual’s psychological distance from the dominant norms and institutions of their society, particularly those prevalent in mid-20th century America. The scale specifically measures attitudes that reflect a rejection of or indifference towards mainstream political processes, conventional family structures, religious faith, and popular culture.

The instrument was designed for use in sociological research to correlate levels of alienation with various demographic and behavioral variables. It serves as a tool for researchers studying social integration, conformity, and deviance, offering a concrete score that represents the degree of an individual’s perceived meaninglessness and isolation within their social context.

Construct

The construct measured is Sociological Alienation. Nettler operationalized this complex social-psychological state across four distinct, yet interrelated, sub-dimensions, reflecting areas where an alienated individual displays non-conformity or detachment:

• Politicism: Measures skepticism toward or disinterest in conventional political processes, elections, and the sincerity of public officials.
• Religiosity: Assesses rejection of traditional religious beliefs, viewing religion as myth, or believing life lacks divine purpose.
• Familism: Measures unconventional attitudes toward marriage, children, and traditional family life, often reflecting a preference for single life or viewing married life as restrictive.
• Mass Culture: Focuses on detachment from popular, mainstream cultural artifacts and leisure activities, such as spectator sports, television, or popular magazines.

High scores on the scale indicate a greater degree of alienation, signifying a generalized feeling that life is meaningless, social institutions are corrupt or irrelevant, and personal involvement in traditional social activities is unnecessary or undesirable.

Validity

The original validity of the Nettler scale, as reported in the 1957 publication, focused primarily on construct validity. Items were selected based on their theoretical relevance to the sociological concept of alienation, ensuring they reflected rejection of widely accepted social norms (e.g., voting, enjoying mass media, believing in religion). Nettler utilized contrasting groups—individuals theoretically expected to be alienated versus those expected to be integrated—to demonstrate the scale’s ability to differentiate between these populations.

Subsequent studies utilizing the scale, such as those cited by Robinson and Shaver (1969), provided further evidence of its predictive validity by demonstrating correlations between high alienation scores and specific behaviors or attitudes consistent with social detachment. While precise quantitative measures like correlation coefficients are not detailed in the summary source content, the instrument is generally recognized in sociological measurement literature as having established foundational validity for measuring this specific conceptualization of alienation.

Reliability

Specific internal reliability coefficients (such as Cronbach’s alpha) for the original 17-item scale are not provided in the source summary. However, instruments designed for academic research typically undergo rigorous testing for internal consistency. Given the multi-dimensional nature of the scale (covering four distinct factors), researchers often analyze the reliability of the sub-scales separately.

For research purposes, particularly in political and social psychology, the scale’s utility has often been accepted based on its conceptual clarity and subsequent replication in various studies. Users seeking detailed psychometric data should consult the original 1957 journal article by Nettler, G., which outlines the initial development and psychometric testing of the instrument.

Factor Analysis

The structure of the Nettler’s Alienation scale is inherently multi-factorial, designed to capture different facets of social detachment. The initial factor structure identified four distinct dimensions or sub-scales:

• Mass Culture (4 items)
• Familism (4 items)
• Religiosity (3 items)
• Politicism (6 items)

This structure suggests that alienation is not a monolithic concept but rather a collection of attitudes concerning specific institutional spheres. Later adaptations of the scale adjusted the item composition, sometimes dropping specific items (3, 11, 12, 14, and 17) to refine the factor structure or improve its applicability to changing social contexts, demonstrating ongoing refinement based on subsequent factor analytical studies.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-Report Questionnaire / Attitude Scale

Format: Dichotomous or agreement/disagreement statements, often scored to indicate the degree of non-conformity or detachment (e.g., Yes/No, Agree/Disagree, Specific choice indicating alienation).

Language Available: English (Original)

Population Group: General population, primarily focused on adults and older adolescents capable of reflecting on social and political attitudes.

Age Group: Adults (18+), or those of voting age.

Population Details: Originally validated on samples relevant to sociological studies in the United States during the 1950s.

Test Methodology: Pencil and paper or interview administration. Responses are typically summed, often after reverse-scoring conventional items, to yield an overall alienation score and scores for the four sub-dimensions.

Keywords

Nettler Scale, Psychometrics, Social Attitudes, Anomie, Political Disengagement, Measurement Scale, Sociological Theory

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not Specified

Affiliation Email addresses: Not Specified

Correspondence Address: Not Specified (Authored while Nettler was affiliated with the University of Alberta, Canada, or similar institutions during that period).

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was first published in 1957. Given its age and status as a foundational instrument in academic sociology, it is widely available for research and non-commercial academic use. There is typically no fee required for its use in scholarly research.

The original PDF containing the instrument and related measures can be downloaded here: https://www.psc.isr.umich.edu/dis/infoserv/isrpub/pdf/Measuresofsocialpsychologicalattitudes_2928_.PDF

Reference’s

• Nettler, G. (1957). A measure of alienation. American Sociological Review, 22, 670-677.
• Bonjean, C. et al (1967). Sociological Measurement. San Francisco: Chandler.
• Robinson, John P., Shaver, Phillip R. (1969). Measures of Political Attitudes. Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan. Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Items of the Nettler’s Alienation

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. Do you vote i n national elections? (Or would you if of voting age?) (No)
2. Do you enjoy TV? (No)
3. What do you think of the new model American automobiles? (Disapprove)
4. Do you read Reader’s Digest? (No)
5. Were you interested in the recent national elections? (No)
6. Do you think children are generally a nuisance to their parents? (Yes)
7. Are you interested in ha‎ving children? (Or would you be at the right age?) (No)
8. Do you like to participate in church activities? (No)
9. Do national spectator-sports (football‚ baseball) interest you? (No)
10. Do you think most married people lead trapped (frustrated) lives? (Yes)
11. Do you think you could just as easily live in another society past or present? (Yes)
12. Do you think most politicians are sincerely interested in the public’s welfare‚ or are they more interested in themselves? (Themselves)
13. Do you think religion is mostly myth or mostly truth? (Myth)
14. “Life‚ as most men live it‚ is meaningless.” Do you agree or disagree? (Agree)
15. For yourself‚ assuming you could carry out your decision or do things over again‚ do you think a single life or married life would be the more satisfactory? (Single)
16. Do you believe human life i s an expression of a divine purpose‚ or is it only the result of chance and evolution? (Chance)
17. “Most people live lives of quiet desperation.” Do you agree or disagree? (Agree)

Later items:

1. Our public education system is in pretty sorry shape. (Agree)
2. Are you generally interested in local elections? (Yes)
3. In the long run and with some rare exceptions‚ who gets elected or doesn’t hasn’t the slightest influence upon social welfare. (Agree)

(In this later version items 3‚ 11‚ 12‚ 14‚ and 17 were dropped.)