A Content, Correlational, and Factor Analytic Study of Seven Questionnaire Measures of the Protestant Work Ethic

Abstract

A review of the literature revealed seven, quite different self-report measures of the Protestant Work Ethic (PWE). This study set out to compare and contrast these different measures by content, correlational, and factor analysis. Over 1000 English-speaking respondents completed all seven scales. Content analyses revealed seven dimensions to the PWE measures, and correlational analyses confirmed this. Factor analyses yielded five readily interpretable factors. The results are discussed in terms of the multi-dimensional nature of the PWE beliefs, the psychometric evaluation of the different scales, and the difficulty of defining the PWE in current contexts.