A Scale for Measuring Students' Anti-Intellectualism

Abstract

Two studies were conducted which report the development and testing of the Student Anti-Intellectualism Scale, designed as a measure of anti-intellectual attitudes in students enrolled in higher education. The first study analyzed an initial 25-item scale to assess internal consistency and factorial structure. The second study examining a final version of the scale was conducted to test reliability and factorial structure, in addition to assessing evidence of construct validity. The second study also assessed temporal stability and social desirability response set. The studies indicated the scale had a fundamentally unidimensional structure and considerable internal consistency and also provided support for the validity of the anti-intellectualism construct. Anti-intellectualism is discussed in the context of personality theory, and suggestions are offered with reference to establishing anti-intellectualism as a trait relative to the five-factor model of personality.