Ascendance-Submission Questionnaire

Abstract

The Ascendance-Submission Questionnaire (ASQ), developed by S. Stansfeld Sargent and Katharine Pease Beardsley in 1960, is a specialized instrument designed to measure the degree of ascendant or submissive behaviors exhibited in specific social contexts. The scale was originally tailored for undergraduate college women and examines responses across six common social situations, equally divided into three group scenarios and three dyadic (pair) interactions.

Comprising 36 distinct items, the ASQ assesses six specific behavioral components: “Speaking Out,” “Initiating Action,” “Conforming,” “Being Conspicuous or Unconventional,” “Standing Up for One’s Rights,” and “Standing Up for the Rights of Others.” Responses are structured on a 5-point scale ranging from “Always” to “Never,” with scores weighted to reflect ascendance (4 points) versus submission (0 points). Higher scores indicate more ascendant tendencies. The instrument demonstrated strong initial reliability, yielding an internal consistency of .83 using Hoyt’s method.

Keywords

Ascendance-Submission Questionnaire, Ascendance, Submission, Submissiveness, Test Development, Social Roles, Personality Traits, Internal Consistency, Hoyt’s Method, College Women, Aggressiveness, Passiveness.

Authors

S. Stansfeld Sargent, Katharine Pease Beardsley

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Ascendance-Submission Questionnaire is to systematically quantify and assess the degree of ascendant or submissive behavior displayed by an individual within defined social settings. It serves as an inventory for situational social behavior rather than a comprehensive measure of global personality traits.

This assessment focuses specifically on behavioral manifestations, evaluating how respondents typically act when faced with common social demands, such as initiating conversations, defending personal viewpoints in group dynamics, or responding to pressure to conform.

Construct

The central psychological constructs measured by the ASQ are Ascendance and Submission (or Submissiveness). Ascendance refers to the tendency to assert oneself, take initiative, and control social interactions, often associated with dominance or leadership qualities. This construct is operationalized through behaviors like speaking out and initiating action.

Conversely, submission describes a tendency toward passive behavior, compliance, and yielding to the opinions or actions of others. The scale views these constructs as existing along a continuum, where higher scores reflect greater ascendance and lower scores indicate higher submissiveness across various social situations.

Validity

The original documentation for the 1960 scale entry does not explicitly provide quantitative information regarding measures of construct, criterion, or face validity. While the instrument was developed to assess behaviors in defined social situations, specific validity studies documenting its correlation with external criteria or other established measures of dominance/passivity are not included in the primary reference material.

Reliability

The Ascendance-Submission Questionnaire demonstrated strong initial reliability, specifically regarding its internal consistency. The reliability coefficient for the 36-item measure was calculated to be .83.

This reliability coefficient was estimated using Hoyt’s method, which is a statistical technique derived from the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and is used in psychometrics to determine the consistency among items within a scale. An internal consistency score of .83 suggests that the items reliably measure the same underlying construct across the sample population of college women.

Factor Analysis

No information regarding formal factor analysis procedures, such as exploratory or confirmatory factor analysis, was provided in the source documentation for the scale’s initial development. Although the instrument is organized around six specific behavioral aspects, the empirical factor structure supporting these subscales remains undocumented in the primary reference materials.

Instrument

Test Type: Revision / Inventory/Questionnaire

Format: Items are rated on a 5-point scale from “Always” to “Never.” Scores are weighted from 4 (maximum ascendance) to 0 (maximum submission).

Language Available: English (Original)

Population Group: Human; Female

Age Group: Adulthood (18 years and older)

Population Details: Sample: Undergraduate College Women

Test Methodology: Test Construction; Internal Consistency

Keywords

Personality Assessment, Social Behavior, Ascendance, Submission, Psychometric Instrument, Test Reliability, 7200 Personality Classification.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided

Correspondence Address: S. Stansfeld Sargent was affiliated with the V.A. Hospital at the time of publication.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 1960

Permissions and Fees: Information regarding current licensing, permissions, or associated fees for the use of the Ascendance-Submission Questionnaire is not available in the original source material. Researchers should consult the journal where the original article was published or contact the relevant academic institutions for usage rights.

Reference’s

The primary reference for the development and initial validation of the scale is:

• Sargent, S. S., & Beardsley, K. P. (1960). Social roles and personality traits. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 6(1-2), 66–70. https://doi.org/10.1177/002076406000600109

Items of the Ascendance-Submission Questionnaire

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way. The 36 items are structured to assess behavior across six key aspects in three group and three dyadic social situations.

• Speaking Out
• Initiating Action
• Conforming
• Being Conspicuous or Unconventional
• Standing Up for One’s Rights
• Standing Up for the Rights of Others