Psychometric Properties of the Conformity Scale (A. Mehrabian and C. Stelf)

The article presents the results of psychometric properties analysis of the conformity scale by Mehrabian and Stelf (1995). To date, there are no scales in Russian that would allow assessing the degree of conformity. One of such scales is the Conformity Scale developed by Mehrabian and Stelf (1995). They define conformity as willingness to identify with others and emulate them, to give in to others to avoid conflict, and generally, to be a follower rather than a leader in terms of ideas, values, and behaviors. Our study include 287 subjects aged 18 to 55 years (72 men and 215 women). It was shown that the Russian version of the Mehrabian and Stelf Conformity Scale has convergent and discriminant validity, satisfactory internal consistency, but weak test-retest reliability. As a result of the analysis of the internal structure of the scale, it was shown that the one-factor model proposed by the authors of the scale demonstrates a good fit to the data. A two-factor model, in which direct and reversed items loaded on different factors, demonstrated excellent fit to the data. This result, however, may be due to the tendency of the direct and reverse items to load on different factors rather than to the nature of the construct of conformity. A comparison of men and women did not reveal any differences in conformity level, which indicates the universal nature of this phenomenon. Future directions of research may include analysis of other types of validity and be aimed at improving test-retest reliability.