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RESEARCH PRODUCT
Measuring Populist Attitudes on Three Dimensions
Martin WettsteinPhilipp MüllerWerner WirthChristian SchemerAnne SchulzDominique S. Wirzsubject
Sociology and Political Sciencemedia_common.quotation_subject05 social sciencesConstruct validity050801 communication & media studies0506 political sciencePopulismPolitics0508 media and communicationsEmpirical research10240 Department of Communication and Media Research3312 Sociology and Political Science050602 political science & public administrationIdeologyPsychologySocial psychology070 News media journalism & publishingPopular sovereigntymedia_commondescription
Theoretically, populism has been conceptualized as a political ideology with three sub-dimensions: anti-elitism attitudes, a preference for popular sovereignty, and a belief in the homogeneity and virtuousness of the people. However, empirical research to date has treated populist attitudes as a unidimensional construct. To address this issue, we propose to conceptualize populist attitudes as a latent higher-order construct with three distinct first-order dimensions. A 12-item inventory was developed using two survey studies conducted in Switzerland in 2014 and 2015. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to test the construct validity of this measure of populist attitudes. The measurement that is proposed allows for a fine-grained study of populist attitudes in the general public.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-01-01 | International Journal of Public Opinion Research |