A four-item, seven-point Likert-type scale measuring the degree to which a person believes a social standard makes sense, has a good reason behind it, is beneficial, and is legitimate for a given group. The norm being evaluated is not stated in the items themselves; it must be supplied contextually prior to administration. A blank in item 3 requires the name of the relevant social group to be inserted. Warren and Campbell (2014) created the scale for use in Study 2 (n = 196) and originally called the construct 'legitimacy.' In that study, participants evaluated a norm associated with a fictional city-state called Ballai; the phrase 'Ballai society' was inserted in the blank. Internal consistency was excellent: alpha = .94 (Warren, 2015). The scale was developed quickly for the purposes of a single study and was not subjected to formal validation.
Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.
The name of the relevant social group should be inserted in the blank in item 3 (e.g., 'Ballai society,' 'our community,' 'the group'). Response anchors: strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (7) (Warren, 2015). The scale was created for a specific study and was not formally validated (Warren, 2015, personal correspondence). Researchers should note that the construct was originally labelled 'legitimacy' by Warren and Campbell (2014); the broader label of norm reasonability reflects the conceptual breadth of the four items. Suitable for experimental studies where norms are manipulated and participant perceptions of those norms require verification.
Warren, C., & Campbell, M. C. (2014). What makes things cool? How autonomy influences perceived coolness. Journal of Consumer Research, 41(2), 543–563.
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