Contemporary German Political Orientation Questionnaire (CGPOQ, S-CGPOQ)

Abstract

The Contemporary German Political Orientation Questionnaire (CGPOQ), developed by Demel et al. (2024), is a culturally tailored psychometric instrument designed specifically to measure detailed dimensions of Political Orientation within German populations. The initial development phase involved generating 47 items based on preliminary findings from a laboratory study at the University of Goettingen.

Following extensive data collection from a German sample and subsequent rigorous Factor Analysis, the full CGPOQ was refined to a 20-item scale. This final measure reliably captures three distinct primary factors: Tradition and National Security, Gender and Sexuality, and Global Thinking. Recognizing the need for efficiency in large-scale studies, the authors also developed a shorter, 11-item version (S-CGPOQ). Both the full and short versions exhibited acceptable psychometric properties, including robust factor structures, high internal reliability, and strong validity. It is important to note, however, that the S-CGPOQ is best suited for assessing group trends in large samples and should not be relied upon for analyzing individual scores.

Keywords

Political Orientation, Tradition and National Security, Gender and Sexuality, Global Thinking, Political Ideology, Attitude Measures, National Security, Political Attitudes, Politics, Sex Role Attitudes, Sexuality, Social Issues, World View

Authors

Demel, Ronja; Pooresmaeili, Arezoo; Gagsch, Florian; Spengler, Mareike; Schacht, Anne

Purpose

The CGPOQ aims to provide a modern, culturally relevant assessment of political attitudes that moves beyond traditional left-right political spectrum models. Its core objective is to specifically assess key, current dimensions of political orientation relevant to contemporary German society, focusing on attitudes toward tradition, national defense, social issues related to gender and sexuality, and international perspectives (global thinking).

Construct

The primary psychological construct measured is Political Orientation. Unlike older scales which often relied on unidimensional or bidimensional constructs, the CGPOQ operationalizes this construct using three primary, empirically derived factors:

• Tradition and National Security: Reflecting conservative attitudes toward national identity, security, and traditional societal structures.

• Gender and Sexuality: Reflecting attitudes toward progressive social issues, sex roles, and LGBTQ+ rights.

• Global Thinking: Reflecting attitudes toward international cooperation, globalism, and open borders.

Validity

The CGPOQ demonstrated strong psychometric validity across multiple metrics. For Convergent Validity, the scale showed good alignment with established measures such as self-identification, an older conservatism questionnaire, voting intention, Social Dominance Orientation, and Right-Wing Authoritarianism. It also displayed appropriate divergence from measures like religiosity and empathy, confirming Divergent Validity.

Furthermore, the CGPOQ exhibited strong Criterion Validity, as scores reliably differentiated participants based on their stated political party affiliations. The shorter S-CGPOQ maintained comparable correlations with both convergent and divergent measures relative to the full scale. The Kruskal-Wallis test for the S-CGPOQ yielded a significant result (𝜒2(7) = 94.94, p < .001), further confirming the short scale’s ability to differentiate between known groups.

Reliability

Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha for both the full and short versions, indicating strong reliability across the scales and their respective subscales.

Internal Consistency Results:

• CGPOQ (Full 20-item scale): The overall scale achieved good internal consistency with a Cronbach’s alpha of .91. Subscale reliabilities were: .89 for “Tradition and National Security,” .85 for “Gender and Sexuality,” and .72 for “Global Thinking.”

• S-CGPOQ (Short 11-item scale): The short scale maintained acceptable internal consistency, with an overall Cronbach’s alpha of .81. Subscale alphas were: .78 for “Tradition and National Security,” .77 for “Gender and Sexuality,” and .66 for “Global Thinking.”

Factor Analysis

The development process relied on both Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to establish the structure. The initial EFA retained a robust 3-factor solution, which collectively accounted for 47.15% of the total variance in the dataset.

The final 20-item structure of the CGPOQ was confirmed using CFA. Although the chi-square test was significant (𝜒2 (167) = 556.80, p < .001), the chi-square ratio (𝜒2/df = 3.33) suggested a good model fit. Fit indices were slightly above optimal cut-off values but still supported the proposed model: the RMSEA (Root Mean Square Error of Approximation) was .088, and the SRMR (Standardized Root Mean Square Residual) was .091. A separate CFA for the S-CGPOQ also demonstrated acceptable fit: 𝜒2(41) = 135.992, p < .001, 𝜒2/df = 3.32, SRMR = .081, and RMSEA = .087.

Instrument

Test Type: Original

Format: Participants respond to statements using an 11-point percentage scale, ranging from 0% (“completely disagree”) to 100% (“fully agree”).

Language Available: German. English is present in the source material.

Population Group: Human; Male; Female.

Age Group: Adulthood (18 years and older), including Young Adulthood (18-29 years), Thirties (30-39 years), and Middle Age (40-64 years).

Population Details: Respondents are adult citizens located in Germany.

Test Methodology: Test Validity, Convergent Validity, Criterion Validity, Test Reliability, Internal Consistency, Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Exploratory Factor Analysis.

Number of items: The full measure (CGPOQ) includes 20 items, while the short version (S-CGPOQ) consists of 11 items.

Factors and Subscales: The questionnaire comprises three main factors: “Tradition and National Security,” “Gender and Sexuality,” and “Global Thinking.”

Instrument Type: Inventory/Questionnaire.

Construct: Political Orientation.

Test Items Available: No data is Available.

Administration Method: Electronic.

Keywords

Political Orientation, Tradition and National Security, Gender and Sexuality, Global Thinking, Political Ideology, Attitude Measures, National Security, Political Attitudes, Politics, Sex Role Attitudes, Sexuality, Social Issues, World View

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier:

• Demel, Ronja: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0166-6501

• Pooresmaeili, Arezoo: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4369-8838

• Schacht, Anne: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9471-3842

Affiliation Email addresses:

• Demel, Ronja: [email protected]

• Pooresmaeili, Arezoo: No data is Available

• Gagsch, Florian: No data is Available

• Spengler, Mareike: No data is Available

• Schacht, Anne: No data is Available

Correspondence Address:

Demel, Ronja: University of Goettingen, Department for Cognition, Emotion and Behavior, Göttingen, Germany, [email protected]

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions: Contact Corresponding Author

Commercial: No

Fee: No

Test Year: 2023

Reference’s

Demel, R., Pooresmaeili, A., Gagsch, F., Spengler, M., & Schacht, A. (2024). Beyond bidimensional measures: Introducing a culturally tailored measure of political orientation. Political Psychology, 45(3), 517–535. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12935

Items of the Contemporary German Political Orientation Questionnaire (CGPOQ, S-CGPOQ)

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

No data is Available