Beyond bidimensional measures: Introducing a culturally tailored measure of political orientation

Abstract

Political orientation profoundly influences individual and social decisions. Yet adequate and culturally adaptable tools to quantify it are missing. In personality research, it is common to use questionnaires to capture the multifaceted nature of a construct. Thus, surprisingly, most studies assess political orientation using single-item scales that fail to account for cultural contexts beyond two-party systems. Using a bottom-up approach in which the core content of political orientation was defined by a German sample (N = 117), the current preregistered study developed a contemporary German questionnaire of political orientation (CGPOQ). The CGPOQ consists of 20 items that together form three main factors: “Tradition and National Security,” Gender and Sexuality,” and “Global Thinking.” The factor structure that was determined by exploratory factor analysis (N = 1,089) was validated by confirmatory factor analysis in an independent sample (N = 303). Good fit was demonstrated by comparing the CGPOQ with several convergent (self-identification, older conservatism questionnaire, voting intention, social dominance orientation, right-wing authoritarianism) and divergent (religiosity, empathy) measures. The results indicate that the CGPOQ is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring political orientation in a German population. Furthermore, it challenges the assumption that political orientation relies on the same two dimensions across cultures.

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ORCID for Arezoo Pooresmaeili: orcid.org/0000-0002-4369-8838

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