Ethnocentrism Scale
Also known as: GENE Scale, Ethnocentrism Scale, Generalized Ethnocentrism Scale
The Generalized Ethnocentrism (GENE) Scale, developed by Neuliep and McCroskey, is a self-report instrument measuring ethnocentrism: the tendency to view one's own group as the center of the social universe and to judge other groups by its standards, with corresponding ingroup preference and outgroup derogation. In political science, the ethnocentrism construct was given prominence by Kinder and Kam's (2009) Us Against Them, which uses survey-based ethnocentrism measures to explain American policy opinion.
Key highlights
- Captures a generalized intergroup disposition that predicts attitudes across many specific outgroups rather than one.
- The GENE Scale has strong reported reliability and an extensive validation record in intercultural communication.
- The stereotype-difference operationalization can be constructed from existing national survey items, enabling longitudinal analysis.
- Provides a parsimonious explanation of opinion on a wide range of group-relevant political issues.
Intuition
This section is available to Pro members. Upgrade to Pro
How it works
This section is available to Pro members. Upgrade to Pro
When to use it
Use ethnocentrism measures to predict and explain political attitudes that hinge on group boundaries, such as immigration, foreign policy, redistributive welfare, and support for minority-targeted policy. The GENE Scale suits communication and psychology studies of generalized intergroup orientation; the stereotype-difference operationalization suits secondary analysis of national election surveys. The construct assumes a meaningful ingroup/outgroup structure and is most informative when politics is framed around 'us versus them'.
Strengths & limitations
- Captures a generalized intergroup disposition that predicts attitudes across many specific outgroups rather than one.
- The GENE Scale has strong reported reliability and an extensive validation record in intercultural communication.
- The stereotype-difference operationalization can be constructed from existing national survey items, enabling longitudinal analysis.
- Provides a parsimonious explanation of opinion on a wide range of group-relevant political issues.
- Ethnocentrism overlaps conceptually with prejudice, social dominance, and authoritarianism, requiring discriminant validation.
- Survey operationalizations vary widely (Likert scale vs. stereotype differences vs. thermometer differences), hampering comparability.
- Item content referencing 'my culture' is sensitive to how respondents define their ingroup.
- Self-report ethnocentrism is subject to social-desirability suppression in low-prejudice norm contexts.
Common pitfalls
This section is available to Pro members. Upgrade to Pro
Applications
This section is available to Pro members. Upgrade to Pro
Frequently asked
How is ethnocentrism different from prejudice?
Prejudice is typically a negative attitude toward a specific outgroup. Ethnocentrism is a more general disposition to elevate the ingroup and derogate outgroups in the abstract, applying across many targets at once. A person high in ethnocentrism tends to be cool toward outgroups generally, which is why a single ethnocentrism score can predict attitudes toward immigrants, foreigners, and minorities simultaneously.
How do political scientists measure ethnocentrism without a dedicated scale?
Following Kinder and Kam, ethnocentrism is often computed from existing national-survey items as the difference between how warmly or favorably respondents rate their own group and how they rate other groups, averaged across stereotype traits or feeling thermometers. This lets researchers estimate ethnocentrism retrospectively from decades of election surveys that lack a purpose-built scale.
Is ethnocentrism the same as nationalism?
They are related but distinct. Ethnocentrism is a psychological disposition toward ingroup/outgroup divisions defined by culture or ethnicity. Nationalism is an attitude specifically about one's nation, often involving belief in its superiority and dominance. Ethnocentrism can underlie nationalism but also predicts non-national intergroup attitudes, so the two are measured separately.
Sources
- 1.Neuliep, J. W. (2002). Assessing the reliability and validity of the Generalized Ethnocentrism Scale. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 31(4), 201-215.
- 2.Kinder, D. R., & Kam, C. D. (2009). Us against them: Ethnocentric foundations of American opinion. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.ISBN 9780226435718
You have read it. What now?
Cite this page
ScholarGate. (2026, June 22). Ethnocentrism Scale. ScholarGate. https://scholargate.app/political-psychology/ethnocentrism-scale