Conservatism Test (SECS)

The Social and Economic Conservatism Scale (SECS) was developed by Jim A.C. Everett in 2013. At the time of publication, Jim A.C. Everett was affiliated with the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. This site is not affiliated with Everett or University of Oxford.

The Social and Economic Conservatism Scale (SECS) is a psychological tool developed by Jim A.C. Everett in 2013 to measure the degree of political conservatism in individuals across two core dimensions: social and economic issues. Unlike other tools used to gauge political orientation, the SECS is designed to be both efficient and neutral, allowing for a broader assessment of conservative attitudes without relying on partisan or emotionally charged language. Its simplicity, versatility, and focus on core conservative themes have made it a popular choice in research on political psychology.

Structure of the SECS

The SECS is comprised of 12 items, which are divided into two categories: social conservatism and economic conservatism. Each item is presented as a single concept or value, and respondents are asked to rate their level of support for each item on a scale from 0 to 100. A score of 0 indicates no support for the item, while 100 reflects strong support. The scale captures respondents' attitudes across the two domains and provides a composite score for overall conservatism.

Social conservatism relates to attitudes toward traditional societal structures and values, including issues such as religion, family, and national security. The SECS includes items like abortion, traditional marriage, religion, patriotism, and military and national security. Individuals who score highly on these items tend to support preserving traditional social institutions and may be skeptical of progressive social movements.

Economic conservatism reflects beliefs about the role of government and economic policies. Items include concepts such as limited government, fiscal responsibility, gun ownership, and business. People who score highly in economic conservatism generally advocate for a free market economy, reduced government intervention, lower taxes, and less regulation in business.

By averaging the responses for both dimensions, the SECS generates a comprehensive picture of a person's conservative ideology. It also allows researchers to examine the separate components of social and economic conservatism, offering more granularity compared to scales that treat conservatism as a single, undifferentiated construct.

Advantages of the SECS

One of the major strengths of the SECS is its brevity and neutral wording. Unlike longer, more complicated political tests, the SECS uses simple, clear items that avoid emotionally charged or polarizing language. This approach helps reduce response bias, making the scale more reliable for capturing authentic conservative attitudes. It can be easily administered in surveys or experiments, providing researchers with a quick yet effective measure of political ideology.

Another advantage is its two-dimensional structure, which acknowledges that social and economic conservatism are distinct. Individuals may, for example, score highly on economic conservatism but low on social conservatism, or vice versa. This distinction allows researchers to examine more nuanced political orientations and better understand the complex relationships between personal values, economic policies, and social attitudes.

Applications of the SECS

The SECS has been used in various fields of research, including political psychology, social psychology, and behavioral economics. It has been employed to investigate the links between conservatism and personality traits, cognitive styles, and moral reasoning. For instance, studies using the SECS have explored how conservatism correlates with traits like openness to experience, authoritarianism, and sensitivity to moral foundations like loyalty, authority, and sanctity.

In addition, the SECS is often used in research aimed at understanding ideological polarization, voter behavior, and policy preferences. By focusing on core conservative values rather than specific partisan identities, the SECS helps researchers capture broad political attitudes that can apply across different cultures and political systems. This versatility is particularly valuable in studies where cultural differences might obscure more specific, party-based measures of conservatism.

The Social and Economic Conservatism Scale (SECS) is a valuable tool for assessing political conservatism in a nuanced, efficient, and non-partisan manner. Its focus on both social and economic dimensions allows researchers to capture the complexity of conservative attitudes, and its neutral design ensures that respondents are not influenced by the wording of the items. This makes it a popular choice for researchers studying political ideology, personality, and social behavior, providing key insights into the factors that shape conservative beliefs.

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