The Support for Economic Inequality Scale: Development and adjudication

PLoS One. 2019 Jun 21;14(6):e0218685. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218685. eCollection 2019.

Abstract

Past research has documented myriad pernicious psychological effects of high economic inequality, prompting interest into how people perceive, evaluate, and react to inequality. Here we propose, refine, and validate the Support for Economic Inequality Scale (SEIS)-a novel measure of attitudes towards economic inequality. In Study 1, we distill eighteen items down to five, providing evidence for unidimensionality and reliability. In Study 2, we replicate the scale's unidimensionality and reliability and demonstrate its validity. In Study 3, we evaluate a United States version of the SEIS. Finally, in Studies 4-5, we demonstrate the SEIS's convergent and predictive validity, as well as evidence for the SEIS being distinct from other conceptually similar measures. The SEIS is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing perceptions of and reactions to economic inequality and provides a useful tool for researchers investigating the psychological underpinnings of economic inequality.

Publication types

  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Attitude*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Income* / statistics & numerical data
  • Male
  • Perception
  • Psychometrics* / methods
  • Psychometrics* / standards
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Self Report
  • Self-Assessment*
  • Social Discrimination / economics
  • Social Discrimination / statistics & numerical data
  • Social Stigma
  • Socioeconomic Factors*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires / standards
  • United States

Grants and funding

The authors received no specific funding for this work.