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+Meritocracy Beliefs

Townsend, Major, Sawyer, & Mendes (2010)

Topic: Fairness, Equity, & Political Beliefs

Instructions: 

This next set of questions explores your perceptions about different groups in society. Please rate your level of agreement with the following items on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). Please be as open and honest as you can; there are no right or wrong answers.

Response Options:  

  1. Strongly disagree
  2. Disagree
  3. Somewhat disagree
  4. Somewhat agree
  5. Agree
  6. Strongly agree

Items:

    1. Differences in status between groups in society are fair.
    2. Differences in status between groups in society are the result of injustice. (*R)
    3. It is unfair that certain groups in society have less than other groups. (*R)
    4. Our society is an open society where all individuals can achieve a higher status.
    5. Advancement in our society is possible for all individuals.
    6. Individual members of certain groups are often unable to advance in our society. (*R)

Citation:

Townsend, S. S. M., Major, B., Sawyer, P. J., & Mendes, W. B. (2010). Can the Absence of Prejudice be More Threatening than its Presence? It Depends on one’s Worldview. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99(6), 933–947. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020434 Links to an external site.

Link to PDF:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3059499/pdf/nihms243742.pdf Links to an external site.

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