Open AccessThe Support for Economic Inequality Scale: Development and adjudication
Author(s) -
Dylan Wiwad,
Brett Mercier,
Michael D. Maraun,
Angela R. Robinson,
Paul K. Piff,
Lara B. Aknin,
Azim Shariff
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0218685
Subject(s) - inequality , scale (ratio) , convergent validity , economic inequality , adjudication , psychology , reliability (semiconductor) , perception , social psychology , validity , econometrics , economics , psychometrics , political science , mathematics , clinical psychology , geography , internal consistency , law , mathematical analysis , power (physics) , physics , cartography , quantum mechanics , neuroscience
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.
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