This scale measures internal political efficacy: a person's belief that they are competent to understand politics and to take part in it effectively. Niemi, Craig, and Mattei (1991) developed the four items through a series of pilot tests culminating in the 1987 National Election Study pilot, then evaluated them in the 1988 American National Election Study. The items were designed to replace older efficacy questions that blurred internal efficacy with external efficacy (beliefs about government responsiveness) and political trust.
5-point Likert (agree strongly, agree somewhat, neither agree nor disagree, disagree somewhat, disagree strongly)
Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.
Cronbach's alpha was .80 (Niemi, Craig, and Mattei 1991, n. 2). In confirmatory factor analysis (N = 1,271) all four items loaded on a single internal efficacy factor (loadings .64 to .83) that was distinct from external efficacy and political trust, and the model held across men and women, Black and White respondents, and education levels. As expected, internal efficacy correlated with psychological involvement in politics (.56), political participation (.40) and education (.20). Agreement indicates higher efficacy. Scoring each item 0–4 gives a 0–16 total, and scores were well spread across the 1988 sample (N = 1,735). An order experiment found little effect of presenting the items together or interspersed with other questions.
Niemi, R. G., Craig, S. C., & Mattei, F. (1991). Measuring internal political efficacy in the 1988 National Election Study. American Political Science Review, 85(4), 1407–1413.
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