Balanced Dogmatism Scale

Abstract

The Balanced Dogmatism scale (BD scale), developed by J.J. Ray in 1970, represents a significant methodological advancement in the measurement of the psychological construct of Dogmatism. It was specifically designed to overcome the critical psychometric flaw present in earlier measures, such as the widely used Rokeach Dogmatism Scale, which suffered from contamination by the Acquiescence response tendency (the tendency of a respondent to agree with items regardless of content). Ray achieved this balance by incorporating approximately equal numbers of positively and negatively worded items related to dogmatic beliefs, ensuring that the resulting score reflects the underlying construct rather than a response style artifact. The development and subsequent validation of this Psychological scale are detailed across several publications in the Australian Journal of Psychology and other prominent journals.

Keywords

Dogmatism, Balanced scale, Acquiescence response tendency, Social psychology, Attitude measurement, Personality, J.J. Ray, Psychometrics, Closed-mindedness.

Authors

J.J. Ray

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Balanced Dogmatism scale is to provide researchers with a reliable and valid measure of dogmatism that is uncontaminated by methodological bias. By balancing the direction of item wording (i.e., having items where agreement signifies high dogmatism and items where disagreement signifies high dogmatism), the scale isolates the ideological content of dogmatism from the general propensity to agree (acquiescence). This methodological refinement allows for a purer assessment of the construct, facilitating more accurate studies of dogmatism’s role in social attitudes and personality.

Construct

The BD scale measures Dogmatism, defined psychologically as a relatively closed cognitive organization of beliefs and disbeliefs about reality. This structure is characterized by an unwarranted certainty in one’s own beliefs and an intolerance toward others holding different beliefs. Unlike political conservatism, dogmatism is considered a structural property of the belief system—how one holds beliefs—rather than the specific content of those beliefs. Ray’s scale development efforts were focused on ensuring that the measured construct of dogmatism was distinct from response set artifacts, such as the tendency toward acquiescence, which had confounded earlier scales.

Validity

Validation studies conducted by Ray (1970, 1974) focused heavily on demonstrating that the BD scale measured dogmatism accurately and independently of response bias. The Validity of the BD scale was established through its correlation patterns with other established measures of ideology and personality, such as the F Scale (Authoritarianism), while simultaneously showing reduced correlation with measures of acquiescence compared to the original Rokeach scale. This confirmed the scale’s ability to measure the intended construct of dogmatism rather than mere agreement tendencies, thereby establishing strong construct validity.

Reliability

The Reliability of the Balanced Dogmatism scale, particularly the Mark II and subsequent short versions, was assessed primarily through internal consistency methods, such as Cronbach’s alpha. Ray’s work demonstrated acceptable levels of internal consistency for the scale, suggesting that the items coherently measure a single underlying dimension (dogmatism). The development process involved rigorous item selection to maximize homogeneity and ensure stability, providing confidence in the consistency of measurement across different administrations and populations.

Factor Analysis

Factor analytic techniques were employed during the development of the Balanced Dogmatism scale to confirm its structure and ensure that the positive and negative item sets loaded onto a single, overarching factor of dogmatism, rather than splitting into two separate factors reflecting item phrasing. The successful identification of a primary factor supports the scale’s unidimensionality, confirming that the balancing technique effectively neutralized the methodological variance associated with item direction, allowing the scale to provide a clean measure of the core dogmatism construct.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report Attitude Scale (Psychometric)

Format: 5-point Likert scale response format.

Language Available: English

Population Group: General adult population (Primarily tested on student and community samples in Australia)

Age Group: Adults (18+)

Population Details: Developed using samples from Australian universities and general communities during the late 1960s and 1970s.

Test Methodology: Respondents indicate their level of agreement or disagreement with each statement using the following options: Strongly agree, Agree, Neither agree nor disagree, Disagree, Strongly disagree. Scoring involves reversing items to calculate a total dogmatism score.

Keywords

Dogmatism scale, Rokeach, Acquiescence, Attitude measurement, Psychometrics, Personality assessment, Balanced attitude scale, Closed belief system.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source material; presumed unknown or non-applicable for the era of publication.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source material.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source material.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was developed and published in 1970. As an instrument published in the academic literature, it is generally available for non-commercial research use, although standard academic citation is required. The full text of the instrument is often provided freely by the author online for educational and research purposes. The instrument can be found at the author’s archive: http://jonjayray.tripod.com/baldog1.html & http://jonjayray.tripod.com/baldog2.html.

Reference’s

• RAY, J.J. (1970). The development and validation of a balanced Dogmatism scale. Australian Journal of Psychology, 22, 253-260.
• RAY, J.J. (1972). Are conservatism scales irreversible? British J. Social & Clinical Psychology 11, 346-352.
• RAY, J.J. (1972). A new balanced F scale — And its relation to social class. Australian Psychologist 7, 155-166.
• Ray, J.J. (1974). Balanced Dogmatism scales. Australian Journal of Psychology 26, 9-14.
• Ray, J.J. (1979) A short balanced F scale. Journal of Social Psychology, 109, 309-310.
• Ray, J.J. (1980). Acquiescence and the Wilson Conservatism scale. Personality & Individual Differences, 1, 303-305.
• Ray, J.J. & Pratt, G.J. (1979). Is the influence of acquiescence on “catchphrase” type attitude scale items not so mythical after all? Australian Journal of Psychology 31, 73-78.
• Ray, J.J. (Unpublished). ACQUIESCENT RESPONSE TENDENCY: An update and some data on the invalidity of the Dogmatism scale.

Items of the Balanced Dogmatism scale

Balanced Dogmatism scale (BD scale, Mark II)

1. If we are going to have free speech we must defend the right to be heard of even those we disagree with.
2. Man is master of his own fate and captain of his destiny.
3. If people in one’s own group are always disagreeing among themselves that is probably a rather healthy sign.
4. There is no such thing as “the Truth”.
5. We must find happiness in the present because no one can predict what the future will be like.
6. No one has a “mission in life” that he must accomplish no matter what.
7. Eat, drink and be merry — for tomorrow we may die.
8. The “one true faith” is a myth.
9. The way to happiness is to get involved in the things going on about you.
10. There is never one right answer for any question.
11. Man has within himself the power to control his destiny.
12. In general most people show consideration for others.
13. It is not worth sacrificing your life to became a hero.
14. It’s possible to really live without believing in any great cause.
15. Life can be meaningful without devotion to ideals or causes.
16. All of the philosophies which exist in this world have some truth in them and probably not one is totally correct.
17. In these present days everyone should look to their own happiness.
18. It is never necessary to be on guard against ideas no matter where they may originate.
19. Truth is so elusive that no one can say when he has it.
20. I think none the worse of a person for being concerned chiefly with pleasure.
21. Man on his own is a helpless and miserable creature.
22. Fundamentally, the world we live in is a pretty lonesome place.
23. Most people just don’t give a “damn” for others.
24. I’d like it if I could find someone who would tell me how to solve my personal problems.
25. It is only natural for a person to be rather fearful of the future.
26. A person who thinks primarily of his own happiness is beneath contempt.
27. Unfortunately, a good many people with whom I have discussed important social and moral problems don’t really understand what’s going on.
28. Most people just don’t know what’s good for them.
29. The main thing in life is for a person to want to do something important.
30. If given the chance I would do something of great benefit to the world.
31. A man who does not believe in some great cause has not really lived.
32. It is only when a person devotes himself to an ideal or cause that life becomes meaningful.
33. Of all the different philosophies which exist in this world there is probably only one which is correct.
34. A person who gets enthusiastic about too many causes is likely to be a pretty “wishy-washy” sort of person.
35. To compromise with our political opponents is dangerous because it usually leads to the betrayal of our own side.
36. When it comes to differences of opinion in religion we must be careful not to compromise with those who believe differently from the way we do.
37. In times like these, a person must be pretty selfish if he considers primarily his own happiness.
38. The worst crime a person could commit is to attack publicly the people who believe in the same thing he does.
39. It is annoying to listen to a speaker or teacher who seems unable to make up his mind about what he really believes.
40. For most questions there is only one right answer once a person is able to get all the facts.

The first 20 items are reverse scored.

The Items of the Balanced ‘D’ Scale (Short Version)

1. Man on his own is a helpless and miserable creature.
2. There is so much to be done and so little time to do it in.
3. It is better to be a dead hero than a live coward.
4. A man who does not believe in some great cause has not really lived.
5. It is only when a person devotes himself to an ideal or cause that life becomes meaningful.
6. A person who gets enthusiastic about too many causes is likely to be a pretty “wishy-washy” sort of person.
7. When it comes to differences of opinion in religion we must be careful not to compromise with those who believe differently from the way we do.
8. A group which tolerates too much difference of opinion among its own members cannot exist for long.
9. There are two kinds of people in this world: those who are for the truth and those who are against the truth.
10. A person who thinks primarily of his own happiness is beneath contempt.
11. Most of the ideas which get printed nowadays aren’t worth the paper they are printed on.
12. In this complicated world of ours the only way we can know what’s going on is to rely on leaders or experts who can be trusted.
13. Most people just don’t know what’s good for them.
14. Of all the different philosophies that exist in the world there is probably one which is more in accord with reality than any of the others.
15. The person who is extremely tolerant of widely different and even conflicting viewpoints probably has few opinions of his own.
16. It is annoying to listen to a speaker or teacher who seems unable to make up his mind about what he really believes.
17. For most questions there is only one right answer once a person is able to get all the facts.
18. Although many details still remain to be worked out, we now have definite answers to most practical problems in life.
19. It’s unfortunate that we have censorship in this country.
20. Live and let live is a good motto in life.
21. It doesn’t matter much what religion a person follows.
22. There is good in everyone.
23. There is something to be appreciated in all forms of art.
24. I usually try to keep a fairly open mind on most issues.
25. It is possible that there are many facets to the “truth”.
26. It is usually a help to get a new slant on an old problem.
27. There are few decisions which don’t bear some re-consideration.
28. Criticism can perhaps be useful if it results in a reconciliation of opposing views.
29. It is usually unwise to indulge in generalizations since individual circumstances often alter cases.
30. Many problems have more than one acceptable solution.
31. What may be all right for one person isn’t necessarily right for his neighbor.
32. The Churches don’t give enough weight to individual conscience.
33. It is impossible to generalize about members of other races and cultures.
34. People cannot be expected to stick to the same opinions month after month.
35. Even intelligent people often change their opinions after hearing others’ views.
36. People cannot be blamed for some inconsistencies in what they think.

The last 18 are negative items (i.e., disagreement indicates high dogmatism for these items).