The Struggle of Measurement of Attitudes Related to the Superstitious Beliefs

Abstract

The aim of the scale which is developed is to measure attitudes related to superstitious beliefs. The aim of developing the scale is to separate individuals who believe superstitious beliefs within the frame of the scale items (having superstitious beliefs) and individuals who don't believe these each other. 70 items, which are scaled with five points likert scale, are adapted to two separate sample group and the psychometric characteristics of the scale are examined. The significance of difference between averages of sub-super group of item scores and statistics of explanatory factor analysis, item-total correlations and Cronbach Alpha Coefficient are evaluated on the first sample group and the final form of 23 items is created. By collecting data from the second sample of the final form which is created, the power of the scale items to represent the structure is tested with the explanatory factor analysis. It is concluded that the dependability of the final form of 23 items is high and the evidences obtained in relation to the construct validity are suitable. It is observed that participants' attitudes related to the superstitious beliefs differentiate in terms of variables of gender and educational backgrounds.     

Keywords: superstitious belief, attitudes, development of scale