Wesley Rigidity Scale

Abstract

The Wesley Rigidity Scale (WRS), developed by Elizabeth Wesley in 1953, is a widely cited self-report instrument in psychological assessment designed to measure individual differences in psychological rigidity. The scale operationalizes rigidity as the tendency toward perseverative behavior, cognitive inflexibility, and resistance to change. Originally comprising 41 items presented in a true/false format, the WRS has been instrumental in research exploring the relationship between rigidity, manifest anxiety, and performance on various cognitive tasks. Later modifications, including the development of a shorter form by Zelen and Levitt (1954), have sought to improve its efficiency and psychometric properties for use in social and personality psychology research.

Keywords

Wesley Rigidity Scale, psychological rigidity, cognitive inflexibility, perseverative behavior, personality scale, manifest anxiety, self-report inventory, Elizabeth Wesley.

Authors

Elizabeth Wesley.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Wesley Rigidity Scale is to provide a quantitative measure of an individual’s psychological inflexibility. Wesley (1953) designed the instrument to differentiate individuals based on their resistance to shifting mental sets, difficulty adapting to new situations, and preference for routine and established methods. The scale was initially developed in the context of studying how rigidity relates to other core personality traits, particularly perseverative behavior and levels of manifest anxiety.

The instrument serves as a basic research tool for personality psychologists interested in traits associated with cognitive control and behavioral persistence. Its application allows researchers to categorize subjects along a continuum of flexibility versus rigidity, which is often relevant in studies concerning problem-solving, adjustment, and attitude change, as documented in subsequent compendiums of psychological measures.

Construct

The Wesley Rigidity Scale measures the psychological construct of rigidity. In the context of personality psychology, rigidity is defined as an individual’s chronic and pervasive inability or unwillingness to alter a course of action, an attitude, or a cognitive organization when the objective conditions demand it. The WRS captures several facets of this construct, including:

• Perseveration: The tendency to continue or repeat a response or behavior after the stimulus or situation that elicited the behavior has ceased.
• Inflexibility in Thinking: A preference for conventional, methodical approaches and a difficulty in generating alternative solutions to problems.
• Resistance to Change: A general aversion to adapting to new schedules, tasks, or environments.

The items often reflect behavioral manifestations of this inflexibility, such as adherence to schedules, persistence in unfinished tasks, and reluctance to adopt new ways of doing things, thereby providing a broad measure of personal and social rigidity.

Validity

Early research established the scale’s construct validity by demonstrating expected correlations with related psychological measures. Wesley (1953) showed that rigidity, as measured by the WRS, was positively correlated with both perseverative behavior (measured behaviorally) and scores on measures of manifest anxiety. This supported the hypothesis that rigidity is part of a broader pattern of personality that includes persistent, sometimes maladaptive, behavioral patterns.

Further validation work, such as the study by Chown (1960), investigated the scale’s relationship with age and nonverbal intelligence, contributing to its discriminant validity by showing that rigidity scores were relatively independent of general intelligence measures. The scale has demonstrated criterion validity through its ability to predict behavior in experimental settings requiring shifts in cognitive set.

Reliability

The original 41-item WRS demonstrated acceptable internal consistency reliability for a personality inventory of its time. Although specific coefficients vary across studies, reliability estimates are generally reported in the moderate to high range (typically 0.70 to 0.85). The subsequent development of a short form by Zelen and Levitt (1954) involved refining the item pool to ensure that the condensed version maintained adequate reliability while improving efficiency, making it suitable for quick administration in large research samples.

Factor Analysis

The factor structure of the Wesley Rigidity Scale was systematically explored by Chown (1960). Her factor analysis revealed that the WRS is not strictly unidimensional but rather loads onto several distinct factors, suggesting that psychological rigidity is a multifaceted construct. Chown identified key factors that contribute to the overall rigidity score, including:

1. Rigidity of Personality: Reflecting a general resistance to changing core attitudes, beliefs, or opinions.
2. Rigidity of Habit: Reflecting a strong preference for fixed routines, methodical approaches, and difficulty breaking established behavioral patterns.
3. Non-Adaptability: Reflecting a psychological discomfort or aversion to new situations, unfamiliar tasks, or environmental changes.

This finding is crucial as it suggests that a single total score on the WRS represents a composite of different forms of inflexibility, which may correlate differently with demographic variables like age and cognitive abilities such as nonverbal intelligence.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report personality inventory.

Format: 41 items (original form); True or False response format.

Language Available: English (original).

Population Group: General adult population; widely used with college students and research participants in social psychology studies.

Age Group: Adolescents and Adults.

Population Details: Primarily developed and validated on US university populations in the 1950s and 1960s, often used in studies compiled by the Institute for Social Research.

Test Methodology: Respondents indicate whether each statement is “True” or “False” as it applies to them. Scoring involves summing the number of rigid responses, with higher scores indicating greater psychological inflexibility. Specific scoring keys are necessary to determine which response (True or False) indicates rigidity for each item.

Keywords

Personality inventory, psychological measurement, cognitive style, inflexibility, Zelen and Levitt short form, Chown factor analysis, nonverbal intelligence, social psychology.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not publicly available/Applicable for 1953 publication.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not applicable.

Correspondence Address: Refer to the original publication: Wesley, Elizabeth. (1953). Perseverative behavior, manifest anxiety, and rigidity. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 48, 129-134.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Wesley Rigidity Scale was first published in 1953. As a classic scale published in the academic literature, it is generally considered to be in the public domain for non-commercial research use, provided proper citation is given. The full instrument text is widely accessible through academic databases and compendiums, such as the 1969 publication, Measures of Political Attitudes by Robinson and Shaver. The original PDF of the instrument, as compiled in the Measures of Social Psychological Attitudes, can be accessed here: https://www.psc.isr.umich.edu/dis/infoserv/isrpub/pdf/Measuresofsocialpsychologicalattitudes_2928_.PDF

Reference’s

• Chown, S. M. (1960). A factor analysis of the Wesley Rigidity Inventory: Its relationship to age and nonverbal intelligence. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 61(3), 491-494.
• Robinson, John P., Shaver, Phillip R. (1969). Measures of Political Attitudes. Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan/. Ann Arbor, Michigan.
• Wesley, Elizabeth. (1953). Perseverative behavior, manifest anxiety, and rigidity. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 48, 129-134.
• Zelen, S. L., & Levitt, E. E. (1954). Notes on the Wesley Rigidity Scale: The development of a short form. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 49(3), 472-473.

Items of the Wesley Rigidity Scale

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

1. I am often the last one to give up trying to do a thing.
2. There is usually only one best way to solve most problems.
3. I prefer work that requires a great deal of attention to detail.
4. I often become so wrapped up in something I am doing that I find it difficult to turn my attention to other matters.
5. I prefer doing one thing at a time to keeping several projects going.
6. I dislike to change my plans in the midst of an undertaking.
7. I never miss going to church.
8. I would like a position which requires frequent changes from one kind of task to another.
9. I usually maintain my own opinions even though many other people may have a different point of view.
10. I find it easy to stick to a certain schedule‚ once I have started on it.
11. I believe women ought to have as much sexual freedom as men.
12. I do not enjoy having to adapt myself to new and unusual situations.
13. I prefer to stop and think before I act even on trifling matters.
14. I would not like the kind of work which involves a large number of different activities.
15. I try to follow a program of life based on duty.
16. I have kept a careful diary over a period of years.
17. My interests tend to change quickly.
18. I usually find that my own way of attacking a problem is best‚ even though it doesn’t always seem to work in the beginning.
19. I dislike having to learn new ways of doing things.
20. I like a great deal of variety in my work.
21. I am a methodical person in whatever I do.
22. I am usually able to keep at a job longer than most people.
23. I think it is usually wise to do things in a conventional way.
24. I always finish tasks I start‚ even if they are not very important.
25. People who go about their work methodically are almost always the most successful.
26. When I have undertaken a task‚ I find it difficult to set it aside‚ even for a short time.
27. I often find myself thinking of the same tune or phrases for days a t a time.
28. I have a work and study schedule which I follow carefully.
29. I usually check more than once to be sure that I have locked a door‚ put out the light‚ or something of the sort.
30. I have never done anything dangerous for the thrill of it.
31. It is always a good thing to be frank.
32. I have a habit of collecting various kinds of objects.
33. I have taken a good many courses on the spur of the moment.
34. I believe that promptness is a very important personality characteristic.
35. My interests change very quickly.
36. It is the slow‚ steady worker who usually accomplishes the most in the end.
37. I am always careful about my manner of dress.
38. I usually dislike to set aside a task that I have undertaken until it is finished.
39. I am inclined to go from one activity to another without continuing with any one for too long a time.
40. I prefer to do things according to a routine which I plan myself.
41. I always put on and take off my clothes in the same order.