Acquiescence—Measurement and Theory*

A review of the methods of measuring acquiescence suggests that there is insufficient justification for regarding acquiescence as a single trait. As this assumption is the basis for the construction of independent general measures of acquiescence, such scales call for investigation. Seven measures of acquiescence were administered to 85 male householders of heterogeneous social background. Included were three scales presumed to be independent general measures of the tendency to acquiesce, two sets of acquiescence scores derived from different social desirability scales, and two derived from different authoritarian scales. Two factors were found, the first being defined by acquiescence from scales employing plausible generalities (particularly 'Rational Authoritarianism') and the second by Welsh's R‐Scale. Both factors were shown to be independent of social desirability, but all other 'independent' measures of acquiescence were shown to be confounded with social desirability or authoritarianism or both. It is suggested that the first factor is generated by the subjects' tendency to acquiesce in what he perceives to be generally accepted as rational or authentic, this explanation being a parallel to that advanced for the origin of social desirability. A three‐factor theory of response style is put forward to account for the relationships found.