Power Distance in Society

What it measures

The scale assesses belief in social hierarchy as a natural or acceptable feature of society, a construct with implications for how consumers respond to status-based marketing appeals.

Response format

7-point Likert (1=strongly disagree, 7=strongly agree)

Scale items

• It is important to maintain equality.
• Everyone is created equal. (r).
• Everyone should have an equal place.
• There should be a social hierarchy in this world.
• Everyone should have a defined high or low place.
• Everyone is born unequal.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Source not stated by Yan, Keh, and Chen (2021), who may have created the scale themselves by drawing on related measures such as Ordabayeva and Fernandes (2018). Reliability ranged from acceptable to good (α = .73–.80) across a pretest and main study. It was used as a manipulation check in both, offering some indirect support for validity.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Yan, L., Keh, H.T., & Chen, J. (2021). Assimilating and Differentiating: The Curvilinear Effect of Social Class on Green Consumption. Journal of Consumer Research, 47(6), 914-936.

Keywords