Conservatism, acquiescence, and the effects of sample heterogeneity

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Abstract
Data from two family samples that were heterogeneous in regard to age and sex were analysed to provide evidence about the effects of acquiescent responding on the Wilson and Patterson Conservatism Scale. In one sample of 575 respondents (Adelaide metropolitan families) the correlation between the conservative and liberal halves of the C‐Scale before reversal was‐.417, coefficient alpha for the item conservatism scores over all 50 items (after reversal) was .837, and alpha for the 50 items scored for acquiescence was 654. In the second sample of 358 respondents (Flinders University families) the respective correlations were‐.539, 877, and .692. In both cases these statistics were higher than those reported by Ray and Pratt (1979). The analyses also demonstrated that age differences were especially important “sources” of variation in conservatism scores. It was argued that the Ray and Pratt (1979) findings may be due to the relative homogeneity of their samples in regard to age and sex.

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