The structure of social values: Validation of Rokeach's two‐value model

Abstract

This research sought to investigate the validity of Rokeach's two‐dimensional model of political ideology. In two separate studies, samples of Australian adults and university students were asked to complete the Social Values Inventory, a newly derived instrument designed to provide a more detailed coverage of the political ideology domain. Factor analyses of each set of data revealed a basic two‐dimensional structure defined as international harmony and equality and national strength and order. While this solution only partially supported Rokeach's model, it did bear some resemblance to a typology identified by Scott (1960). The implications of these findings for Rokeach's model are discussed, as are strategies for resolving the present lack of concordance between these conceptual schemata.