Worldviews: Discerning and Measuring the Dimensions that Make Up Our Most Fundamental Beliefs
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Abstract/Artist Statement
This research sought to develop a comprehensive worldview measure. A worldview is a set of core beliefs, values, and attitudes about the nature of the universe and humanity, one’s place in the universe and in their social context, and how one should live their life. Humans are predisposed to have a worldview, as it is a result of human nature and necessary for human functioning, particularly interacting with others and finding meaning and purpose in one’s life (Kearney, 1984; Nilsson, 2014). Worldviews have immense potential for contributions to the field of psychology. For example, worldviews provide possible explanations of human behavior and valuable insights into tensions between societal groups. While worldviews show great theoretical and empirical promise, critical gaps remain in our knowledge. One reason for the scarcity of research on worldview development is the lack of a robust worldview measure. The current research sought to fill this gap by developing a comprehensive worldview measure.
To do so, two studies were conducted. The first study derived a workable number of items (questions) from five existing worldview measures, and the second study used those items to produce a comprehensive worldview measure. In Study 1, five existing worldview measures (160 items) were administered to 171 undergraduate students. Items were analyzed using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), a statistical procedure used to identify a smaller set of underlying variables (i.e., factors) from a larger set of variables (in this case, the 160 questionnaire items). Using standard criteria for item reduction (e.g., redundant or uncorrelated items), the items were reduced to 77. The item reduction was necessary given that the statistical techniques required in Study 2 necessitate 5-10 participants per item.
Study 2 sought to identify the underlying factors (or groupings of the items) in order to ensure the new measure maintained a meaningful breadth while eliminating any further redundant or extraneous items. Participants (N = 772) were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk), an online platform where individuals are paid (in this case $.50) to complete small tasks. MTurk was chosen for two reasons: (1) large sample size (at least 770 participants) necessary for the analyses and (2) greater demographic variability to increase generalizability of the results. An EFA was run on half of these participants using the same criteria from Study 1 to reduce items. This process resulted in 41 items which formed five factors: Factor 1, benevolence and optimism; Factor 2, secularism; Factor 3, Eastern-based spirituality; Factor 4, hard work and respect for authority; and Factor 5, illusion of free will. The five factors were then analyzed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to see how the six-factor model fit the remaining half of participants. According to the high standards of the CFA, this model appears to be a decent fit to the data. This new measure also shows strong preliminary evidence for reliability and validity. Overall, this new, comprehensive measure will serve as a strong tool to further worldview research.
Mentor Name
Rachel Severson
Worldviews: Discerning and Measuring the Dimensions that Make Up Our Most Fundamental Beliefs
UC 331
This research sought to develop a comprehensive worldview measure. A worldview is a set of core beliefs, values, and attitudes about the nature of the universe and humanity, one’s place in the universe and in their social context, and how one should live their life. Humans are predisposed to have a worldview, as it is a result of human nature and necessary for human functioning, particularly interacting with others and finding meaning and purpose in one’s life (Kearney, 1984; Nilsson, 2014). Worldviews have immense potential for contributions to the field of psychology. For example, worldviews provide possible explanations of human behavior and valuable insights into tensions between societal groups. While worldviews show great theoretical and empirical promise, critical gaps remain in our knowledge. One reason for the scarcity of research on worldview development is the lack of a robust worldview measure. The current research sought to fill this gap by developing a comprehensive worldview measure.
To do so, two studies were conducted. The first study derived a workable number of items (questions) from five existing worldview measures, and the second study used those items to produce a comprehensive worldview measure. In Study 1, five existing worldview measures (160 items) were administered to 171 undergraduate students. Items were analyzed using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), a statistical procedure used to identify a smaller set of underlying variables (i.e., factors) from a larger set of variables (in this case, the 160 questionnaire items). Using standard criteria for item reduction (e.g., redundant or uncorrelated items), the items were reduced to 77. The item reduction was necessary given that the statistical techniques required in Study 2 necessitate 5-10 participants per item.
Study 2 sought to identify the underlying factors (or groupings of the items) in order to ensure the new measure maintained a meaningful breadth while eliminating any further redundant or extraneous items. Participants (N = 772) were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk), an online platform where individuals are paid (in this case $.50) to complete small tasks. MTurk was chosen for two reasons: (1) large sample size (at least 770 participants) necessary for the analyses and (2) greater demographic variability to increase generalizability of the results. An EFA was run on half of these participants using the same criteria from Study 1 to reduce items. This process resulted in 41 items which formed five factors: Factor 1, benevolence and optimism; Factor 2, secularism; Factor 3, Eastern-based spirituality; Factor 4, hard work and respect for authority; and Factor 5, illusion of free will. The five factors were then analyzed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to see how the six-factor model fit the remaining half of participants. According to the high standards of the CFA, this model appears to be a decent fit to the data. This new measure also shows strong preliminary evidence for reliability and validity. Overall, this new, comprehensive measure will serve as a strong tool to further worldview research.