Scale Development Report

A scale refers to a measurement criteria made up of a single or several items or questions that are intended to yield a result that measures what cannot be directly observed such as feelings, attitude, or ability also described as latent in psychology (Bagozzi, 2011). Since in the study attitude towards the indigenous Australians is measured, the scale used is a reflective scale. A reflective scale measures abilities that cannot be observed directly (Bagozzi, 2011). Scales can either be uni-directional i. e measuring a single dimension of attitude, or multi-dimensional i. This study is conducted with the aim of developing a measurement scale which will assist in the determination of affective, cognitive and behavioral attitudes of individuals towards the indigenous people. The UN declaration summarizes the Rights of Indigenous People into Likert-type items which measure five constructs, Lands and Resources, Service and Representation, Restitution, Self-Governance, and the Preservation of culture (United Nations, 2008).

The problem with the general attitude scale is that it is broad and lacks specificity and is less quantitative in nature in the aspects of human interaction. The indirect methods of measuring attitude miss on some attitudes that the respondents are hiding. Unlike the other researches that have studied the general and easily observable attitudes such as motivation, or the constructs contained in the UN declaration on the rights of indigenous people, this study broadly studies a wider attitude construct with regard to human relation to another. If Indigenous Australians only worked harder, they would be just as well off as other Australians • Other minority groups have worked their way up, so should Indigenous Australians • Indigenous Australians are more likely to blame others for their life outcomes, rather than take responsibility for themselves • When given an opportunity, Indigenous Australians work just as hard as other Australians (Reverse) Excessive demands: • Indigenous Australians are getting too demanding in their push for land rights • Indigenous Australians need to stop asking for more; Australia has already given them enough • Australia owes a huge debt to Indigenous Australians.

We should provide whatever they ask for (Reverse) • Indigenous Australians have a history of deprivation. If something is demanded by them, it should be delivered (Reverse) • Indigenous Australians should be able to demand the return of things that were originally taken from them (Reverse) Denial of continuing discrimination: • There is no racial tension between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians today • Indigenous Australians tend to exaggerate the amount of discrimination they receive • Indigenous Australians are not racially discriminated against anymore • Indigenous Australians are now treated just the same as other Australians • The traumatic history of Indigenous Australians has made it so hard for them to get ahead (Reverse) Undeserved advantage: • Indigenous Australians rely too much on welfare • It’s not fair that Indigenous Australians receive more financial support than other Australians • All you need to do is tick the ‘Are you of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent?’ box and you will basically get anything for free.