Nettler’s Alienation

Abstract

The Nettler’s Alienation scale, developed by Gwynne Nettler in 1957, is a seminal instrument in Sociological Measurement designed to empirically assess the extent of an individual’s sense of estrangement or detachment from key societal institutions and norms. Unlike earlier philosophical conceptualizations of Alienation, Nettler sought to create a quantifiable measure focusing on observable attitudes related to contemporary American life. The scale operationalizes the construct of Alienation across specific domains, providing a measurable index of non-conformity and cynicism toward modern society.

Keywords

Alienation, Sociological Measurement, Psychological Construct, Mass Culture, Familism, Religiosity, Policiticism, Attitude Scale, Gwynne Nettler.

Authors

Gwynne Nettler

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Nettler’s Alienation scale was to shift the study of alienation from a purely theoretical or philosophical discussion to an empirical, quantifiable domain within the social sciences. Nettler aimed to develop an instrument that could reliably measure individual differences in feelings of detachment, meaninglessness, and powerlessness relative to mainstream society and its institutions, particularly focusing on attitudes prevalent in post-war America.

The scale serves as a tool for researchers to correlate levels of Alienation with other demographic, psychological, and social variables, contributing significantly to the literature on social deviance and conformity.

Construct

Nettler defined Alienation not as a monolithic concept, but as a Psychological Construct comprising specific dimensions of social estrangement. The scale is empirically derived and structured around four distinct, yet related, subscales or domains of social life. High scores indicate a rejection of, or detachment from, prevailing social values and institutions.

The identified dimensions that comprise the overall construct of Alienation in Nettler’s framework include: Mass Culture, Familism, Religiosity, and Politicism. These dimensions capture rejection of popular entertainment, traditional family structures, organized religion, and conventional political engagement, respectively.

Validity

Specific detailed information on the validity metrics (e.g., criterion, construct, or content validity) for the original 1957 publication is best accessed directly via the primary source. However, the scale achieved initial face and content validity by deriving items directly from prevalent societal attitudes indicative of estrangement at the time.

Subsequent research, particularly the comprehensive review by Robinson and Shaver (1969), acknowledged the importance of Nettler’s work as a pioneering effort in the empirical measurement of Alienation, supporting its construct validity through its ability to differentiate between individuals based on their social and political attitudes.

Reliability

The original 1957 paper by Nettler provides the foundational evidence for the scale’s reliability. While the specific type of reliability (e.g., test-retest reliability or internal consistency measures like Cronbach’s alpha) is not detailed in the summary provided, the scale’s continued use and inclusion in major measurement compendiums suggest acceptable psychometric properties for its era. Later analyses often recalculated reliability coefficients using more modern statistical methods.

Factor Analysis

The structure of the Nettler scale is based on an implicit or explicit factor structure that divides the total score into four specific sub-components, reflecting the multidimensional nature of the alienation construct.

The four factors identified are:

• Mass Culture (4 items): Measures detachment from popular culture and consumerism (e.g., enjoyment of TV, interest in American automobiles).
• Familism (4 items): Measures attitudes toward traditional family life and marriage (e.g., interest in having children, views on married life).
• Religiosity (3 items): Measures skepticism toward organized religion and divine purpose.
• Politicism (6 items): Measures cynicism and disinterest in conventional political processes and institutions (e.g., voting, trust in politicians).

Note that subsequent revisions of the scale, as noted in the source material, involved dropping several items (specifically items 3, 11, 12, 14, and 17 from the original 17-item version), which would necessarily impact the factor loadings and overall structure of the revised instrument.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-Report Attitude Questionnaire / Sociological Scale

Format: Primarily closed-ended questions requiring dichotomous (Yes/No, Agree/Disagree) or forced-choice responses, often reflecting the alienated response in parentheses.

Language Available: English (Original)

Population Group: General adult population (Primarily tested on American samples).

Age Group: Adults of voting age and older.

Population Details: The scale was developed and validated within a mid-20th century American context, focusing on attitudes toward mainstream societal structures.

Test Methodology: Administration typically involves paper-and-pencil completion, requiring respondents to indicate agreement or disagreement with statements, or specific preferences, reflecting either a conformist or an alienated viewpoint. The instrument can be found in the comprehensive collection, “Measures of Political Attitudes.” The original PDF can be downloaded here: https://www.psc.isr.umich.edu/dis/infoserv/isrpub/pdf/Measuresofsocialpsychologicalattitudes_2928_.PDF

Keywords

Social Psychology, Mass Culture, Political Attitudes, Social Detachment, Politicism, Cynicism, Measurement.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not specified in source (Historical context)

Affiliation Email addresses: Not specified in source (Historical context)

Correspondence Address: Refer to the Department of Sociology, University of Alberta (Nettler’s later affiliation) or the original publication details.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Nettler’s Alienation scale was first published in 1957. Given its age and inclusion in standard academic measurement texts, it is generally considered to be in the public domain for academic research purposes, though researchers should always cite the original Nettler (1957) publication.

Reference’s

• Nettler, G. (1957). A measure of alienation. American Sociological Review, 22, 670-677.
• Bonjean, C. et al (1967). Sociological Measurement. San Francisco: Chandler.
• Robinson, John P., Shaver, Phillip R. (1969). Measures of Political Attitudes. Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan. Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Items of the Nettler’s Alienation

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

The original Nettler’s Alienation scale contained 17 items. A later version was also proposed, dropping items 3, 11, 12, 14, and 17.

1. Do you vote i n national elections? (Or would you if of voting age?) (No)
2. Do you enjoy TV? (No)
3. What do you think of the new model American automobiles? (Disapprove)
4. Do you read Reader’s Digest? (No)
5. Were you interested in the recent national elections? (No)
6. Do you think children are generally a nuisance to their parents? (Yes)
7. Are you interested in ha‎ving children? (Or would you be at the right age?) (No)
8. Do you like to participate in church activities? (No)
9. Do national spectator-sports (football‚ baseball) interest you? (No)
10. Do you think most married people lead trapped (frustrated) lives? (Yes)
11. Do you think you could just as easily live in another society past or present? (Yes)
12. Do you think most politicians are sincerely interested in the public’s welfare‚ or are they more interested in themselves? (Themselves)
13. Do you think religion is mostly myth or mostly truth? (Myth)
14. “Life‚ as most men live it‚ is meaningless.” Do you agree or disagree? (Agree)
15. For yourself‚ assuming you could carry out your decision or do things over again‚ do you think a single life or married life would be the more satisfactory? (Single)
16. Do you believe human life i s an expression of a divine purpose‚ or is it only the result of chance and evolution? (Chance)
17. “Most people live lives of quiet desperation.” Do you agree or disagree? (Agree)

Later items added to the modified version:

1. Our public education system is in pretty sorry shape. (Agree)
2. Are you generally interested in local elections? (Yes)
3. In the long run and with some rare exceptions‚ who gets elected or doesn’t hasn’t the slightest influence upon social welfare. (Agree)