Dangerous and competitive schemas: A new Frequency Estimation Index of the Dual Process Model’s Social Worldviews component

Abstract

We present an alternative self-report measure of the social worldview component in Duckitt’s (2001) Dual Process Model (DPM) of prejudice. Theoretically, worldviews represent belief structures about the nature of the social world (schemas). The new Frequency Estimation Index of Dual Social Worldviews (FEI-DSW) uses 0–100% response scales to assess social worldviews using indicators of the subjective estimation of the frequency of events. Previously, worldview indicators have been indexed using ideological attitude measures as a proxy. Exploratory ( N = 378; Study 1) and Confirmatory ( N = 300; Study 2) Factor Analyses validated the factor structure of the FEI-DSW in undergraduate and New Zealand community samples. The FEI-DSW evidenced good construct validity, as its dual factors, dangerous worldview (FEI-DW) and competitive worldview (FEI-CW) differentially predicted Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO). The FEI-DSW provides a reliable and valid measure of social worldviews that is closer to a formal definition of worldviews as social schemas.