The Analysis of Internal Consistency and Internal Structure of Questionnaires of Tolerance / Intolerance to Ambiguity: IAS, TAN, MSTAT-I and MSTAT-II

The article presents the results of internal consistency and internal structure analysis on a sampleof 184 subjects of the four most widely used questionnaires of tolerance / intolerance to ambiguity: the Intolerance to Ambiguity Scale (IAS) by S. Badner, Multiple Stimulus Types Ambiguity Tolerance Scale (MSTAT-I and MSTAT-II) D. McLane and the Tolerance-intolerance of ambiguity new questionnaire (TAN) by T. V. Kornilova. The IAS subscales showed low internal consistency, the Tolerance-intolerance of ambiguity new questionnaire scale showed satisfactory internal consistency and the MSTAT-I and MSTAT-II scales showed high internal consistency. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the five-factor model of MSTAT-I, the other models were not confirmed on our data. Exploratory factor analysis revealed unsatisfactory internal structure of the IAS, TAN, MSTAT-II. The results of the study are discussed.

Liberals Report Lower Levels of Attitudinal Ambivalence Than Conservatives

Political conservatism has been shown to be positively correlated with intolerance of ambiguity, need for closure, and dogmatism and negatively correlated with openness to new experiences and uncertainty tolerance. Those findings suggest that conservatism should also be negatively correlated with attitudinal ambivalence; by definition, ambivalent attitudes are more complex and more tinged with uncertainty than univalent attitudes. However, little published research addresses this issue. The results of five studies (total N = 1,049 participants) reveal instead that political liberalism is negatively associated with ambivalence. This finding held for both subjective and potential (i.e., formula-based) measures of ambivalence and for both politicized and nonpoliticized attitude objects. Conservatives may prefer uncomplicated and consistent ways of thinking and feeling, but that preference might not necessarily be reflected in the actual consistency of their mental representations. Possible accounts for these findings are discussed.

The Variety of Muslim Interpretations in Mass Media Public Discourses in German-speaking Switzerland

This article examines Muslim interpretations in the mass media public discourses in German-speaking Switzerland. It focuses on the period from the moment of the adoption of the initiative against the construction of minarets untill mid-2017. On the basis of a discourse analysis four fields of positions are presented. It can be shown that there is a considerable variety of inter-Muslim interpretations. Those positions with the highest reception are characterized by an intolerance of ambiguity and an incorporation of hegemonial interpretative patterns.

The Internal Structure of the Tolerance-Intolerance of Ambiguity New Questionnaire

The article presents the results of the examination of the Tolerance-intolerance of ambiguity new questionnaire on the sample of 505 subjects. The three factor model, suggested by T.V. Kornilova, demonstrated poor fit to the data. The exploratory factor analysis did not reveal the factor structure of the questionnaire. The results could be explained due to samples differences. The role of additional variables determining the dimension of the construct is discussed.

Moral Dichotomization at the Heart of Prejudice: The Role of Moral Foundations and Intolerance of Ambiguity in Generalized Prejudice

This study confronted the classical idea that generalized prejudice is rooted in a cognitive tendency to sort reality into rigid and simple categories with the more recent idea that prejudice is shaped by moral intuitions. In a diverse Swedish sample ( N = 430), moral absolutism was more strongly associated with generalized prejudice against derogated and dissident (but not dangerous) groups than were other aspects of intolerance of ambiguity. But there was little direct association between any aspect of intolerance of ambiguity and generalized prejudice once indirect relations through binding moral intuitions (which elevated prejudice) and individualizing moral intuitions (which decreased prejudice) had been taken into account. These findings suggest that intolerance of ambiguity is associated with generalized prejudice mainly insofar as it leads to a distinctly moral dichotomization of persons into categories such as insiders and outsiders, law-abiding citizens and deviants, and the righteous and the impure.