Religious Orientation Scale Overview

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Questions and Answers

Which characteristic is associated with the mature religious sentiment according to Allport?

Incapable of assimilating new information

Limited to specific areas

Static and unchanging

Dynamic and motivational (correct)

What does extrinsic religious orientation primarily seek to achieve?

Mundane goals and social approval (correct)

A self-denying lifestyle

Ultimate truth seeking

Personal moral development

How does intrinsic religious orientation differ from extrinsic according to Allport?

It seeks comfort above ultimate significance.

It focuses on societal benefits rather than faith.

It emphasizes personal gain over moral integrity.

It views religion as a master motive. (correct)

Which term describes the oversimplified view of the extrinsic-intrinsic distinction initiated by Allport and Ross?

Using versus living religion Signup and view all the answers

What is a key feature of the immature religious sentiment as opposed to the mature one?

Incapable of adapting to new experiences Signup and view all the answers

What does the Extrinsic subscale of the ROS primarily assess?

Acknowledgment of the peripheral role of religion and seeking social approval Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following scoring ranges is correct for the Intrinsic Scale of the ROS?

9-45 Signup and view all the answers

What is a key criticism related to the scoring of the ROS according to empirical findings?

Absence of a strongly inverse correlation between Extrinsic and Intrinsic orientations Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary advantage of using a median-split approach in classifying religious orientations?

It guarantees an equal representation of respondents in each group Signup and view all the answers

What has been a significant basis for the emergence of revisions to the ROS scales?

Psychometric inadequacies and conceptual gaps in the existing scales Signup and view all the answers

Which scales were developed by Batson to measure previously unmeasured themes in religious orientation?

Interactional and Quest Scales Signup and view all the answers

What does the Internal scale measure in the context of Batson's work?

An individual's need to believe in religion Signup and view all the answers

What was the initial assumption about the External scale's correlation with other scales?

It would correlate positively with the Extrinsic scale Signup and view all the answers

Which dimensions of religious orientation are assumed to be independent according to Batson?

The utilitarian Means and existentially toned Quest dimensions Signup and view all the answers

What aspect of the ROS has been criticized based on its reading level?

It is unsuitable for special adult populations or children Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Religious Orientation Scale (ROS)

Developed by Allport, the ROS aims to measure extrinsic and intrinsic religious orientations.
Allport initially characterized "mature" religious sentiment as complex, dynamic, moral, comprehensive, integral, and heuristic.
"Immature" religious sentiment encompasses the opposite characteristics.
Later discussions by Allport focused on extrinsic and intrinsic orientations, with the distinction seeming implicit and not explicitly defined.
Religious orientation is viewed as motivational, describing the role religion plays in an individual's life, ranging from instrumental to ultimate, peripheral to central, and servant to master depending on orientation.

Extrinsic Religious Orientation

Extrinsic orientation is a utilitarian motivation.
Religious behaviors and beliefs are employed to achieve mundane goals like comfort, social status, and approval.

Intrinsic Religious Orientation

Intrinsic orientation arises from goals within the religious tradition.
It is a non-mundane, self-denying motivation; religion is considered a "master motive."

ROS Subscales

The ROS, Allport’s primary effort to operationalize extrinsic and intrinsic orientations, was preceded by earlier attempts.
Wilson (1960) created a 15-item measure of extrinsic religious values, and Feagin (1964) developed 6-item scales for both extrinsic and intrinsic orientations.
Items on the Extrinsic subscale reflect the peripheral role of religion, focusing on seeking solace and social approval.
Intrinsic subscale items seem less conceptually focused, but reflect the fervency of commitment.

ROS Scoring

Extrinsic and Intrinsic scales are separate.
Scoring involves summing respective items, resulting in a range of 11-55 for Extrinsic and 9-45 for Intrinsic scores using a 5-point scale.
A 9-point scale is also used by some researchers.
Mean scores, not raw totals, are preferred for comparisons.
Classifying individuals using median splits can affect comparability across diverse samples.
A theoretically meaningful approach is to split samples based on the mid-point or neutral point of the scale.

ROS Revisions and Criticisms

Revisions and replacements for the ROS have stemmed from empirical and conceptual-empirical critiques.
Pure empirical critiques focus on psychometric weaknesses like lack of inverse Extrinsic/Intrinsic correlation, low inter-item correlations, or multidimensionality of certain scales.
Conceptual-empirical critiques challenge the ROS's measurement of Allport's envisioned maturity.
Batson's (1976) approach proposes more distinct scales to assess these distinctions.

Batson's Revised Model

Batson proposed the Quest Scale to measure the desire to grapple with existential questions and religious doubts.
The Internal and Doctrinal Orthodoxy scales measure motivation to believe and endorsement of specific religious doctrines, correlated with intrinsic orientation.
The External scale assesses the influence of others on religious beliefs, which surprisingly, correlated with intrinsic orientation.
Batson's model proposes three independent dimensions of religious orientation: a devout dimension, a utilitarian dimension, and a quest dimension.
Batson's model addresses gaps of religious orientation as defined by Allport

ROS Cultural and Age Considerations

The ROS is largely tied to a North American Protestant view of Christianity.
Items referencing church and Bible may limit interpretability for non-Christian respondents.
Modifications using less sectarian language are recommended.
An age-universal version of the ROS caters to diverse adult/child populations.

ROS Sample, Means, and Distributions

Allport and Ross (1967) data encompassed 309 participants from different denominations, but not representative of the population.
Means of intrinsic and extrinsic scores were not reported for each subsample neither for the whole data set.
Smaller groups and sects tend to report higher intrinsic, and lower extrinsic orientations than larger denominations due to their stringent membership requirements.
Research shows higher intrinsic scores in conservative Protestant groups compared to others
Internal consistency reliability for the intrinsic scale is adequate to excellent, while extrinsic reliability tends to be lower, attributed to broader manifestations of the extrinsic orientation.

ROS Validity

The ROS validity is complicated by subtle shifts within Allport’s writings and by the inherent value-ladenness of religious orientation constructs.
Allport and Ross implied intrinsic as "good" and extrinsic as "bad" religion regarding validity without supporting rationale.
Many researchers implicitly judged extrinsic as "negative" and intrinsic as "positive", influencing how validity is judged.
Intrinsic orientation should correlate positively with religious commitment and a sense of purpose, both are validated.
Extrinsic orientation could be related to seeking social approval or a need for comfort, supported by negative correlations found with measures related to mental health and stress .

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Description

This quiz explores the concepts of extrinsic and intrinsic religious orientations as developed by Allport. It discusses the characteristics of mature versus immature religious sentiments and how these orientations motivate individuals in their religious behaviors and beliefs. Test your understanding of this important psychological framework.