Internalization of Labor Standards Scale

Abstract

The Internalization of Labor Standards Scale is a psychological instrument consisting of 13 items designed to measure the degree to which an employee has adopted traditional professional and societal expectations. These expectations focus specifically on deeply ingrained standards such as the fulfillment of duties and high levels of personal commitment to work.

Developed by Fischer and Kohr (1980), this scale serves as a subscale within a larger set of instruments intended to capture “Central Work Perceptions of Employed Persons.” The scale is currently classified as “tested” (erprobt) and is available in German.

Keywords

internalization, labor standards, work ethic, commitment, duty fulfillment, occupational psychology, work perception, norms.

Authors

Fischer, G., Kohr, H.-U., Lippert, E., Wakenhut, R., Zelinka, F.-F., and Zoll, R.

Purpose

The scale’s primary purpose is to quantitatively assess the adoption (or rejection) of traditional work norms among employed individuals. It was developed as one of five subscales measuring “Central Work Perceptions of Employed Persons” (Zentrale Arbeitsperzeptionen Berufstätiger).

This instrument was created to complement existing scales measuring socio-political attitudes, based on the theoretical assumption that political and social behavior cannot be adequately understood without considering the central role of work in an individual’s life. The authors posit that the workplace is a core domain where interactions, learning, and adaptation processes occur, influencing the behavior, cognitions, and emotions of the working person.

Construct

The core construct measured is the internalization of labor standards (Internalisierung von Arbeitsnormen). This refers to the degree to which an individual has integrated traditional, socially and ideologically relevant work norms, specifically those related to duty performance and strong professional commitment.

A high scale score indicates a strong personal adoption of these societal expectations regarding work ethics. The authors hypothesized that this construct should correlate substantially with the perception of functioning in a superior/supervisory role, as these norms are often central to management expectations and work requirements.

Validity

Formal validation evidence for the Internalization of Labor Standards Scale was not explicitly provided in the original documentation by the authors. Specific reports on criterion validity or construct validity are therefore absent from the initial publication notes.

Reliability

The internal consistency of the full 13-item scale is considered acceptable. The reported reliability measure, Cronbach’s Alpha, was calculated at .81. This value indicates a good level of inter-relatedness among the items, suggesting that they reliably measure the intended underlying construct.

Factor Analysis

A formal test of the scale’s unidimensionality was not conducted for the full 13-item version. However, a simultaneous factor analysis was performed on the items selected for the short forms of the five subscales (including the Internalization of Labor Standards Scale).

The results of this analysis indicated potential issues with discriminant validity, as nearly all items exhibited non-trivial loadings not only on their intended primary dimension but also on secondary, unrelated dimensions (Fremddimensionen). This suggests that while the scale is internally consistent, its items may overlap conceptually with other constructs measured by the related subscales.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report psychological scale (Subscale of Central Work Perceptions)

Format: 13 items in the full version; a short form consisting of 6 items (Items 1, 3, 4, 9, 11, 13) was also developed. Responses utilize a 5-point Likert scale.

Language Available: German (Deutsch)

Population Group: Employed adults (Berufstätiger)

Age Group: Adult working population (specific age range not provided)

Population Details: Data derived from a representative survey of the adult population in the Federal Republic of Germany (BRD), N = 2505 respondents, surveyed in March 1976.

Test Methodology: Responses are scored on a 5-point Likert scale with anchors: zutreffend (applicable) (1), eher zutreffend (rather applicable) (2), weder/noch (neither/nor) (3), eher unzutreffend (rather inapplicable) (4), unzutreffend (inapplicable) (5). For scoring, the values are reversed and weighted such that “Zutreffend” receives a score of 5 and “Unzutreffend” receives a score of 1. Total scale scores are calculated by summing the item responses.

Keywords

work commitment, duty, norms, occupational psychology, socio-political attitudes, Federal Republic of Germany, psychometrics, work perception.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A

Correspondence Address: Heinz-Ulrich Kohr, Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut der Bundeswehr (SOWI), Winzererstr. 52, 80797 München, Deutschland.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was developed and documented in 1980 by Fischer and Kohr, based on data collected in March 1976. The scale is classified as “tested” (erprobt). Specific information regarding usage permissions, licensing fees, or commercial availability is not provided in the original source documentation.

References

Fischer, G., & Kohr, H.-U. (1980). Zentrale Arbeitsperzeptionen Berufstätiger. In G. Fischer, P. R. Wakenhut, E. Lippert, F.-F. Zelinka, & R. Zoll (Eds.), Sozio-politische Einstellungen: Skalen und Daten zur bundesdeutschen Bevölkerung (pp. 121-137). Campus Verlag.

Items of the internalization of labor standards scale

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