Authoritarianism-Rebellion Scale

Abstract

The Authoritarianism-Rebellion Scale (ARS), developed by P.M. Kohn in 1972, is a psychometric scale designed to measure individual differences in attitudes toward authority and societal norms. It represents a critical advancement over earlier measures, such as the classic F Scale, by incorporating a balanced design that includes both traditional authoritarian statements and ‘left-wing’ or rebellious statements.

This methodology was specifically utilized to address and mitigate potential measurement artifacts arising from acquiescence response bias, which plagued earlier unidirectional scales. The ARS provides a more robust assessment of the psychological construct of authoritarianism and its polar opposite, counter-authoritarianism or rebellion, within a single, bipolar dimension.

Keywords

Authoritarianism, Rebellion, F Scale, Political Psychology, Social Attitudes, Obedience, Counter-Authoritarianism, Psychometrics, Kohn, Acquiescence bias.

Authors

P.M. Kohn.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Authoritarianism-Rebellion Scale was to create a methodologically superior measure of authoritarian tendencies compared to existing instruments of the time. Kohn sought to address the inherent flaw of the original, unbalanced F Scale, which contained only statements indicative of authoritarian views, thereby inflating scores due to the tendency of some respondents to simply agree with items regardless of content (acquiescence bias).

By balancing the instrument with an equal number of pro-authoritarian items and counter-authoritarian (or rebellious) items, the scale ensures that a high score truly reflects the underlying attitude construct rather than a general cognitive response style. This design allows researchers to differentiate genuine ideological commitment from mere agreement tendencies, significantly improving the quality of measurement in studies of political and social psychology.

Construct

The ARS measures a single underlying dimension ranging from extreme Authoritarianism at one pole to extreme Rebellion (or anti-authoritarianism) at the other. Authoritarianism, in this context, is characterized by rigid adherence to conventional values, submission to perceived legitimate authority, and punitive attitudes toward those who violate established social and legal norms.

Conversely, the rebellion dimension is characterized by skepticism toward established authority, a preference for individual conscience over legal mandates, and a critical, often activist, stance toward perceived societal injustices. The scale captures these contrasting ideological dispositions across several key domains, including views on law enforcement, religious submission, social integration, and child-rearing practices.

Validity

The structural enhancement of the ARS—specifically the inclusion of ‘left-wing reversals’—significantly improved its construct validity over the traditional F Scale. The balanced nature of the items ensures that the scale score is a purer measure of the ideological dimension (authoritarianism versus anti-authoritarianism) and is less confounded by extraneous variables like general agreement bias.

Research using the ARS has demonstrated strong concurrent validity, showing appropriate correlations with other measures of relevant social and political attitudes. For instance, high authoritarian scores typically align with measures of political conservatism and ethnocentrism, while high rebellion scores correlate with measures of radicalism and social liberalism, confirming that the scale accurately captures the intended psychological continuum.

Reliability

The scale is generally reported to possess acceptable levels of internal consistency, typically measured using Cronbach’s Alpha, indicating that the 30 items cohere to measure the single underlying construct. The comprehensive item set contributes to stable and reliable measurement across diverse samples.

Crucially, the reliability of the ARS confirms the success of the bipolar design, demonstrating that the seemingly contradictory pro-authority and anti-authority statements load together onto a coherent, measurable dimension of ideological disposition.

Factor Analysis

Factor analytical studies typically support the intended structure of the Authoritarianism-Rebellion Scale, confirming its nature as a strong, single, bipolar factor. This primary factor accounts for the majority of the variance and represents the continuum between submission to authority (Authoritarianism) and defiance of authority (Rebellion).

The effectiveness of Kohn’s balancing strategy is empirically validated when factor analysis shows that the positively worded (authoritarian) items and the reverse-scored (rebellious) items load strongly onto opposite ends of this single underlying dimension. This result confirms that the scale functions as a unified, non-redundant measure of ideological alignment.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report Psychological test measuring social and political attitudes.

Format: 30 items administered using a 6-point Likert scale, ranging from “Strongly Disagree” (1) to “Strongly Agree” (6). Approximately half the items (15) are reverse-scored.

Language Available: English (Original publication).

Population Group: General population; commonly used in social science research involving university students and adult community samples.

Age Group: Adolescents and Adults.

Population Details: The original validation was conducted using Canadian samples, though the scale is widely applicable internationally for measuring attitudes toward authority.

Test Methodology: Standard self-administration methodology. Raw scores are computed by summing the responses after reversing the scores for the asterisked items. Higher total scores indicate greater authoritarian tendencies, while lower scores indicate greater rebellious or anti-authoritarian tendencies.

Keywords

Social Psychology, Ideology, Political Attitudes, Social Conformity, Measurement, P.M. Kohn, Obedience, Discipline, Anti-authoritarianism.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A

Correspondence Address: Correspondence regarding the scale should typically be directed through the Department of Psychology at York University, where P.M. Kohn was affiliated at the time of publication.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was first published in 1972. As an academic instrument published in a major journal (Sociometry), it is generally available for non-commercial research and educational purposes, provided the original publication (Kohn, 1972) is properly cited. Researchers should consult institutional guidelines or contact the rights holder for specific information regarding commercial licensing or modifications. No specific fee structure is provided in the original source material.

Reference’s

Kohn‚ P.M. (1972). The Authoritarianism-Rebellion scale: A balanced F Scale with left-wing reversals. Sociometry‚ 35‚ 176-189.

Further information regarding the author’s work may be found at the following URL: http://www.yorku.ca/rokada/

Items of the Authoritarianism-Rebellion Scale

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

1.       Obedience and respect for authority are the most important virtues children should learn.

2.*     What we need least is an authority to tell us what to do or how to do it.

3.       Every person should have complete faith in some supernatural power whose decisions he obeys without question.

4.       People can be divided into two distinct classes‚ the weak and the strong.

5.*     To be a decent human being‚ follow your conscience regardless of the law.

6.*     No principle is more immoral than that of obedience.

7.       Familiarity breeds contempt.

8.*     Astrology will never explain anything because it is a fraud.

9.*     The Canadian way of life is so resistant to progress that a revolution is necessary to end its injustices and oppressions.

10.     Nowadays‚ when so many different kinds of people move around and mix together so much‚ a person has to protect himself against catching an infection or disease from them.

11.*   Children don=t owe their parents a thing.

12.*   Canada can=t exert moral leadership among nations until it abandons its corrupt material nature.

13.*   Sex crimes like rape and child molesting reflect a sick society and we must change society rather than punish individual offenders.

14.     Obedience is the mother of success.

15.     Strong discipline builds moral ch‎aracter.

16.     Canada is spiritually predestined to lead the world.

17.     Some day it will probably be shown that astrology can explain a lot of things.

18.*   Peoples of different nationalities‚ social classes and races should mix together more. Everybody would benefit from it.

19.*   To know people well is to love them.

20.     The true Canadian way of life is disappearing so fast that force may be necessary to preserve it.

21.     Sex crimes‚ such as rape and attacks on children‚ deserve more than mere punishment: Such criminals ought to be publicly whipped or worse.

22.*   Obedience is the mother of enslavement.

23.*   True morality only develops in a fully permissive environment.

24.     There is hardly anything lower than a person who does not feel a great deal of love‚ gratitude‚ and respect for his parents.

25.     No principle is more noble or holy than that of true obedience.

26.*   The strong and the weak are not inherently different. They are merely the advantaged and the disadvantaged members of an unfair society.

27.*   Obedience and respect for authority aren=t virtues and shouldn=t be taught to children.

28.     To be a decent person‚ always stay within the law.

29.     Our chief want in life is somebody to make us do what we should.

30.*   Faith in the supernatural is a harmful self-delusion‚ and submission to religious authority is dangerous.