Pensacola Z Scale

Abstract

The Pensacola Z Scale (PZS), formally known as the Pensacola Z Survey, was developed by M. B. Jones in 1957. It is a Psychological Scale designed primarily to measure underlying personality dimensions associated with Authoritarianism. Unlike earlier measures, the PZS employs a Forced-Choice format consisting of 66 paired statements, intended to minimize the influence of social desirability bias on respondent answers. The scale specifically measures four interrelated sub-constructs: Anxiety, Hostility, Dependency, and Rigidity, which collectively contribute to an overall score reflecting authoritarian tendency.

Keywords

Pensacola Z Scale, M. B. Jones, Authoritarianism, Anxiety, Hostility, Dependency, Rigidity, Personality Measurement, Psychometrics, Forced-Choice, Political Attitudes.

Authors

M. B. Jones

Purpose

The fundamental purpose of the Pensacola Z Scale was to create a robust and subtle measure of the psychological underpinnings of authoritarianism. Jones sought to develop an instrument that could accurately assess personality characteristics that predispose individuals toward rigid, hierarchical, and intolerant social attitudes, moving beyond the limitations of scales easily influenced by respondents’ attempts to appear socially acceptable.

The scale’s design, utilizing ipsative forced-choice pairings, aimed to uncover these tendencies by contrasting two statements that were matched for social desirability but differed in their psychological implications. This methodology makes the PZS valuable in research contexts where accurate measurement of personality traits—such as high Rigidity or Dependency—is crucial for understanding social behavior and political alignment.

Construct

The Pensacola Z Scale measures a complex constellation of traits considered central to the authoritarian personality, which are categorized into four primary dimensions: Anxiety, Hostility, Dependency, and Rigidity. These constructs are often interrelated, suggesting that individuals scoring highly on the PZS exhibit a general disposition characterized by insecurity and a need for structure.

Specifically, Rigidity relates to an adherence to conventional rules and a difficulty adapting to new ideas; Dependency reflects a strong need for group acceptance and reliance on external authority; Hostility involves latent aggressive feelings and antagonism; and Anxiety measures general nervousness and emotional insecurity. The combined assessment of these factors provides a comprehensive profile of the individual’s susceptibility to authoritarian viewpoints.

Validity

The development of the Pensacola Z Scale involved rigorous attempts to establish Validity, particularly its relationship with established measures of the authoritarian syndrome, such as the F Scale. Jones demonstrated that the PZS correlated significantly with these existing instruments, supporting its claim as a measure of authoritarian tendency while minimizing the transparency issues inherent in those older scales.

Subsequent psychometric evaluations, detailed in major reviews like Measures of Political Attitudes (Robinson & Shaver, 1969), acknowledged the PZS’s utility, although some studies suggested that the scale might be measuring general psychological maladjustment or neuroticism as much as specific political authoritarianism. Nevertheless, the PZS maintains value for its unique approach to trait measurement through the forced-choice format, enhancing its resistance to response set bias.

Reliability

The Reliability of the Pensacola Z Scale has been examined across various cohorts, including naval recruits and college students. Because the PZS employs a forced-choice format (ipsative measurement), classical measures of internal consistency (like Cronbach’s Alpha) often yield lower scores compared to typical Likert scales. However, this format choice enhances the scale’s resistance to faking and social desirability, which is a trade-off in Psychometrics.

Studies conducted by Jones in the 1950s and 1960s reported satisfactory test-retest reliability for the overall Z score, particularly in the homogenous samples used during its initial validation. Researchers utilizing the PZS are advised to reference the original monographs for specific reliability coefficients pertaining to the individual subscales (Anxiety, Hostility, Dependency, and Rigidity).

Factor Analysis

The structure of the Pensacola Z Scale is inherently multi-factoral, designed to capture four distinct yet related dimensions: Anxiety, Hostility, Dependency, and Rigidity. This conceptual framework was supported by early Factor Analysis, which confirmed that the 66 items cluster around these four personality domains.

The scale’s development emphasized orthogonal rotation to ensure that the four factors were relatively independent, although correlations among them suggest the presence of a second-order factor representing the overall construct of authoritarian personality or general psychological constraint. The forced-choice methodology was instrumental in separating these factors by forcing choices between items weighted toward different factors but matched for social desirability.

Instrument

Test Type: Personality Inventory / Social Attitude Scale

Format: 66 forced-choice items (A/B format). Respondents must select one statement from each pair.

Language Available: English (Original)

Population Group: General population; frequently used in academic, military, and social psychology research.

Age Group: Adults (Typically 18+)

Population Details: Originally standardized on military personnel and college students, particularly those associated with the Naval Air Training Program in Pensacola, Florida.

Test Methodology: Self-report psychometric inventory utilizing an ipsative response format to measure subtle personality traits and political attitudes.

Keywords

Personality assessment, Forced-choice testing, M. B. Jones, Social Psychology, Authoritarian tendency, Rigidity, Psychological testing, Political attitudes.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A

Correspondence Address: N/A

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Pensacola Z Scale was first published in 1957. Given its historical context and publication in academic journals, the instrument is widely available in the public domain for non-commercial research and educational purposes. Researchers are encouraged to verify current usage rights with the original publisher or copyright holders if commercial application is intended.

The original PDF documentation for this instrument can be found at the following archival sources:

• The original PDF can be downloaded here: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED010487.pdf
• The original PDF can be downloaded here: https://open.library.ubc.ca/media/download/pdf/831/1.0105429/1
• The original PDF can be downloaded here: https://www.psc.isr.umich.edu/dis/infoserv/isrpub/pdf/Measuresofsocialpsychologicalattitudes_2928_.PDF

Reference’s

The following academic works constitute the foundational references for the Pensacola Z Scale:

• Jones, M. B. (1956). Note on authoritarianism, confinement, and scholastic aptitude. Psychological Reports, 2, 461-464.
• Jones, M. B. (1957). The Pensacola Z Survey: A study in the measurement of authoritarian tendency. Psychological Monographs: General and Applied, 71(23), 1-19.
• Jones, M. B. (1967). Pensacola Z Scale in Volunteer Groups. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 27, 67-73.
• Robinson, John P., Shaver, Phillip R. (1969). Measures of Political Attitudes. Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan. Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Items of the Pensacola Z Scale

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

1.

A) You are too friendly for your own good.

B) Your opinions are often incorrect.

2.

A) Taking advantage of a person sexually makes you feel bad.

B) You have no scruples in sex.

3.

A) You are anxious.

B) You are conceited.

4.

A) To you life is a jungle.

B) To you life is a bowl of cherries.

5.

A) You day-dream politically.

B) You don’t formulate opinions about issues over which you have no control.

6.

A) In political activities you confine your efforts to group action.

B) In political activities you frequently indulge in individual endeavor.

7.

A) You like a tightly organized group.

B) You like a loosely organized group.

8.

A) You haven’t made any mistakes in your life.

B) You can’t get the mistakes you have made out of your mind.

9.

A) There are some people you could never feel for.

B) Sometimes you feel a real compassion for everyone.

10.

A) You like instructions to be specific.

B) You like instructions to be general.

11.

A) You are sexually appealing.

B) You are faithful.

12.

A) You are responsible for most of your troubles.

B) You sometimes get confused without any reason.

13.

A) You frequently laugh at yourself.

B) You don’t like your favorite habits ridiculed.

14.

A) You frequently get away with murder.

B) People often blame you for things you didn’t do.

15.

A) You are not attracted to prudish people.

B) You are not attracted to unkempt people.

16.

A) You want badly to “belong.”

B) You don’t care whether you “belong” or not.

17.

A) You like a clean, neat house.

B) You like good food.

18.

A) You can never forget that love is more than just sex.

B) You can take pleasure in sex as sex.

19.

A) You are always on the lookout for new ways of attacking a problem.

B) In general, you find the tried-and-true methods work best.

20.

A) You are rebellious.

B) You like discipline.

21.

A) You don’t like to gamble on getting a good break.

B) You usually figure on getting a good break.

22.

A) You get more credit than you deserve.

B) You get less credit than you deserve.

23.

A) You get into scrapes you didn’t start.

B) When you get into trouble it is almost always your fault.

24.

A) Most everybody lets you know directly what they think of you.

B) Some people are secretly trying to get the better of you.

25.

A) You positively like to be different from your immediate associates.

B) Being different from your immediate associates makes you uncomfortable.

26.

A) People are either your friends or your enemies.

B) People are rarely either real friends or real enemies.

27.

A) Your hardest battles are with other people rather than with yourself.

B) You are cocky.

28.

A) You could like anyone if you tried.

B) There are some people you know you could never like.

29.

A) You are forgetful.

B) You have a meticulous memory.

30.

A) There are some people you would like to tell off.

B) You are occasionally taken in.

31.

A) People criticize you unjustly.

B) People give you more breaks than you deserve.

32.

A) You are charming.

B) You are firm and resolute.

33.

A) Disappointments affect you so little that you seldom think about them twice.

B) Your daydreams are often about things that can never come true.

34.

A) You would like to counsel a friend on his personal problem.

B) You would like to give first aid to a friend.

35.

A) You collect things.

B) You lose things.

36.

A) You like haphazard living.

B) You like routine.

37.

A) Stuffed-shirts amuse you.

B) Stuffed-shirts get under your skin.

38.

A) You keep calm in an emergency.

B) You can obey orders.

39.

A) You are difficult to please.

B) You like to do favors.

40.

A) You are aware of dripping water in the kitchen.

B) You are not observant.

41.

A) You don’t mind a coward.

B) You can’t stand a coward.

42.

A) You just can’t stay mad even when you think you should.

B) There are some people you would like to take apart.

43.

A) You admire spontaneity in people.

B) You admire efficiency in people.

44.

A) You don’t particularly like to march.

B) You like to march with a group you feel proud to belong to.

45.

A) You need someone in whom you can confide completely.

B) You are selfish.

46.

A) You play fair.

B) You are an individualist.

47.

A) There are some magazines to which you particularly turn for the substantiation of your political ideas.

B) Your political ideas tend to be peculiar to yourself.

48.

A) You can’t help feeling antagonistic to people who hold important opinions radically different from yours.

B) You like a lot of people who disagree with you violently on important issues.

49.

A) Your interest in general principles occasionally gets you up in the clouds.

B) You are a sticker for precision.

50.

A) You have felt so sorry for someone you have cried.

B) You have gotten so mad you cried.

51.

A) Yours is a quick and ready sympathy.

B) You are stern.

52.

A) You are independent.

B) You are loyal.

53.

A) You are talkative.

B) Often you’re sure you’ve forgotten something important.

54.

A) You would be happier if you felt more secure.

B) You would be happier if you were less gullible.

55.

A) You never change your basic beliefs.

B) All your beliefs are open to debate.

56.

A) You follow your conscience.

B) You have ethical standards which you follow.

57.

A) You are very proud of your membership in some groups.

B) You don’t go for groups.

58.

A) You are indifferent to most people.

B) You like or you dislike people.

59.

A) You don’t worry about physical disorders.

B) Sometimes you figure you’re a sure thing for ulcers.

60.

A) You are dogmatic.

B) You are sloppy.

61.

A) There are some people you admire so much you would not question their opinion.

B) You don’t admire anybody very much.

62.

A) Concerning your past actions you figure, “If I did it, it can’t be too bad.”

B) If you had your life to live over, there would be a lot of things you’d do differently.

63.

A) You admire careful, rigorous thinking.

B) You admire brilliant, penetrating thinking.

64.

A) The details of life are important to you.

B) You are often thoughtless.

65.

A) You are well coordinated.

B) You seek new opinions.

66.

A) You are self-confident.

B) You are a good Joe.