Is there a General Factor in Social Attitudes? Evidence from a Factor Analysis of the Conservatism Scale

A principal components analysis of the Wilson‐Patterson Conservatism Scale using a sample of 200 English males, heterogeneous by occupation, is described. Results confirm the importance of a general factor called conservatism running through the test, and to the extent that the test is a representative sample of the entire field of social attitudes it can be asserted that it measures a general factor underlying that universe. It is suggested that the new item format of the C‐Scale may account for the fact that Eysenck's second factor (‘toughmindedness’) did not emerge clearly. The high split‐half reliability found in New Zealand was sustained with the British sample (0.93), and the slight correlation with age was also confirmed ( r = 0.23).