Carnegie Mellon University

Communal Orientation


Title

Communal Orientation Scale

Studies

PCS2, PMBC, PCS3

Copyright Information

Copyright owned by the American Psychological Association (APA)

Primary Reference

Clark, M. S., Ouellette, R., Powell, M. C., & Milberg, S. (1987). Recipient's mood, relationship type, and helpingJournal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 94-103.

Purpose

To assess the extent to which a person typically behaves in a communal fashion toward others, as well as the extent to which a person expects others to behave in a communal fashion toward him or her.

Description

Using a 5-point Likert response scale, participants indicate the extent to which a series of self-referent statements accurately describe their behaviors toward others and their opinions about how others should behave toward them.

Scaling

          1 = Definitely does not sound like me
          2 = Does not sound like me
          3 = Neutral
          4 = Sounds like me
          5 = Definitely sounds like me

Number of Items

14

Psychometrics

In undergraduate students (Clark et al., 1987)

  • Internal consistency (n = 561), Cronbach’s α = 0.78
  • Test-retest reliability (11 weeks; n = 128) = 0.68
  • Validity:  Scores on the Communal Orientation scale correlate with scores on measures of conceptually overlapping constructs (e.g. social responsibility, emotional empathy)

In combined PCS2, PMBC, & PCS3 sample (n = 733)

Internal consistency, Cronbach’s α = 0.78

Scoring

Reversed Items: 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 13

Total Communal Orientation Score:  sum items 1, 2, 3R, 4R, 5, 6R, 7, 8, 9R, 10R, 11, 12R, 13R, 14

Results from a factor analysis of the scale that was published in the source article (Clark et al., 1987) suggested that 4 of the 14 items (1, 7, 11, and 14) comprise a subscale that measures the extent to which individuals want or expect others to behave in a communal manner toward them.   This Communal Toward Self subscore can be computed by summing the four items.

Variables

Total Communal Orientation Score

Communal Toward Self Subscore