System Justification Scale (SJS, Jost & Kay)
Psychology: Values & BeliefsReliability: alpha 0.783 sample items
About this scale
An 8-item measure of system justification — the tendency to defend, bolster, and justify the social, economic, and political status quo, even when it is disadvantageous to oneself.
Sample item(s)
“In general, I find society to be fair”
“Society is set up so that people usually get what they deserve”
“Most policies serve the greater good”
Reliability
Reported internal consistency: alpha 0.78. As a rule of thumb, Cronbach’s α ≥ .70 is considered acceptable, ≥ .80 good, and ≥ .90 excellent for established measures.
Notes
Foundational system-justification measure.
Source & citation
Kay, A. C., & Jost, J. T. (2003): Complementary justice: Effects of 'poor but happy' and 'poor but honest' stereotype exemplars on system justification and implicit activation of the justice motive. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 85, No. 5, pp. 823–837.
Source. Scale details are summarised from the publication cited above. Always consult the original source for the full item set, scoring, and permission to use.
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