Bogardus Social Distance Scale: Definition, Survey Questions with Examples

Introduction

Have you ever wondered if the acceptance you receive in a new country, new school, new work environment, or a new group is real or just a facade in other to respect laid down rules? Well, you are not alone, as psychologists and sociologists have had the same thoughts.

In 1924, Emory S. Borgardus developed the Bogardus Social distance scale to measure the level of willingness, individuals are willing to engage in social relationships with members of different ethnic groups.

In this article, we would define the Borgadus distance scale, its characteristics, some examples, and its advantages.

Bogardus Social Distance Scale Definition

The Bogardus social distance scale is a psychological testing scale first created or discovered by Emory S. Bogardus in 1924. It was designed to help him measure correctly the level at which individuals are willing to connect with people of other ethnic, racial, or social groups.,without any internal or external pressure.

The perception of an individual’s attitudes toward people of other ethnic or social groups is measured with the Boragdus scale based on social distance.

Here, the level of acceptance, rejection, and exclusion are gauged with the scale using a rating of 0-7 with 0 indicating total agreement and 7 complete rejection.

The Bogardus social distance scale gauges the extent to which people accept other people and measures the level of warmth, hostility intimacy, or indifference between these groups highlighted above.

The Bogardus social distance scale is also referred to as a cumulative scale because any agreement with one item indicates agreement with any number of preceding items, and this makes it a subset of the Guttman scale.

Characteristics of the Bogardus Social Distance Scale

Progressive In Nature

The Bogardus scale is progressive or cumulative because it implies that agreement with any aspect of the scale, means agreement with all.

For example, if you were asked if you are willing to marry someone of Nigerian descent. If you are willing to without any coercion, then you indicate your agreement with a 0 rating which implies total acceptance.

However, this also implies that you are willing to have this person(Nigerian) as your neighbor, a friend, and a citizen of your country,

Quantitative Measurement

The Borgadus distance scale uses a quantitative measurement, specifically a 7-point scale, to track acceptance levels between 2 individuals. A lower rating of 0/1.0 indicates a close level of acceptance and a higher rating suggests rejection.

It Covers a Range of Social Relationships

The scale covers a vast range of social relationships from platonic interactions to neighborly interactions, workplace interactions, and romantic/marriage interactions. It focuses on capturing the different aspects of social distance providing a detailed understanding of an individual’s willingness to engage with particular diverse groups without any external pressure.

Standard Format

The scale maintains a consistent format with a network of survey questions presented logically to survey respondents.

It is Flexible and Can Be Adapted to Diverse Scenarios

While the initial focus of the Borgadus distance scale is on ethnic and racial groups. It can be modified to measure social distance across a vast range of social categories.

How To Construct a Bogardus Social Distance Scale Survey

The first step to creating a Bogardus distance scale survey is as follows.

Define the Target Groups: Here, you identify the particular social/racial/ethnic group you want to assess in your survey. Their cultural, religious, or racial diversity should align with your target population.
Set the Survey Questions: Develop a series of questions that cover the different aspects of social distance that you are trying to measure. Avoid any ambiguity and double-barrel questions. Your questions should be clear, concise, and devoid of any bias.

Lastly, use a random question order to avoid response patterns evoked by the order in which the questions are asked.

Read: Response vs Non-Response Bias in Surveys + [Examples]

Get Demographic Information: Include a section to collect demographic information of your participants. The variables in the demographic makeup, help you to understand social distance across various groups.
Use the Likert Scale Format: This way you can present the survey questions using a quantitative rating system like the Likert format. This lets your respondents select their level of social distance with a number, In this case, 0 is the lowest, and 7 is the highest.
Beta Testing: Carry out a pilot test to pinpoint any potential issues that may arise and effect the necessary changes based on the feedback gathered in this stage.
Make Room for Contextual Factors: Set your survey questions, to reflect the ethnography of your target audience, As this may have a direct impact on social attitudes and perceptions.
Guarantee Anonymity and Confidentiality: You are more likely to get honest responses, once respondents are assured that their feedback would only be presented in a cluster form.
Administer Your Survey and Analyze Data: This is the last step and perhaps the most important. To do this successfully, you can automate the process by using advanced data collection software like Formplus. With Formplus you do not have to crack your head over appropriate survey questions.

There is a wide array of survey form templates with questions in a standardized format and random order. All that is required is that you sign up or log in to access any of the survey form templates from the templates library.

Edit them to suit your preference, and share them with your target audience via a link, a QR code, or by simply embedding them into your website.

Once the forms are filled and submitted by your respondent, the data analysis feature allows you to have your collected data processed and analyzed in seconds and you have your report of the social distance scale within your target audience.

Uses of a Bogardus Social Distance Scale

The Bogardus social distance scale has many applications and they are;

It helps to gain insight into inter-group relationships. With the scale, you can measure perception, attitudes, and individual willingness towards different social or ethnic groups.
With the scale, you can monitor changes in social behavior over a period, by administering the survey at different points in time. This way you can assess if policies or interventions fostered social inclusion harmony.
It helps researchers to understand intergroup dynamics and the nitty gritty of social interactions. With this scale factors that impact social acceptance are brought to light and with this knowledge deliberate steps can be taken to eliminate social bias and prejudice.
It is used to compare attitudes among groups and by administering the survey to various groups, the level of social distance attitudes can be evaluated side by side.
It is used to foster the ideal culture in the workplace because with this scale you can gain true insights into the perceptions of your employees about their colleagues and how much they embrace diversity.
It helps with succession planning in the HR space. With this scale, you can identify leaders who would promote cultural diversity in the workplace and are devoid of any form of bias and stereotyping.

Advantages of a Bogardus Social Distance Scale

The scale provides insight into the dynamics in intergroup relations and exposes patterns/levels of social acceptance as well as extents of inclusion or exclusion. It uncovers biased views or stereotypes, which gives room for deliberate steps to foster cultural integration and social cohesion.
It allows for longitudinal analysis, which is simply tracking changes in social views and perceptions over a period. This way researchers can gauge how effective any interventions they offered to promote social inclusion are.
The Borgadus scale uses a numerical rating system, which allows for precision in the data collected. This enhances the reliability of the scale.
The applications of the Borgadus scale is vast, and it can be modified to suit diverse context and population. This flexibility allows researchers to measure intergroup attitudes across various cultural racial and ethnic contexts.
Due to the quantitative nature of the Borgadus scale, the results are objective and cannot be subjected to biased interpretations.
Lastly, the Borgadus distance scale offers an efficient way to collect data on social attitudes and perceptions.

Examples of Bogardus Social Distance Scale

Example 1: With a scale from 0-7, where 0 shows complete rejection and 7 reflects total acceptance. Choose the option that best describes your feeling toward climate change initiatives.

Example response options: 0 – Completely accepting, 3 – Neutral, 7 – Completely rejecting.

Example 2: Select the option that best describes your feeling toward your team, where 0 represents complete acceptance and 7 depicts complete rejection.
Example 3:Would you like to have a member of the Hispanic racial group as your neighbor on a scale of 0-7? 0 depicts willingness and 7 depicts total unwillingness.

Example response options: 0 – Willing, 3 – Neutral, 7 – Unwilling

These are just a few examples and they can be modified to apply to co-workers, friendships, marriage, citizenship, etc.

With the Bogardus distance scale, a lower score indicates a higher proximity/acceptance of the individual or group while a higher score indicates a greater level of reluctance or social distance.

Conclusion

The Borgadus social distance scale is a valuable tool for measuring individuals’ acceptance and perceptions of diverse ethnic groups. It uses a standardized quantitative format of measurement specifically the Likert scale, which uses a rating of 0-7.

This allows for flexibility and a wider application of the scale. Through the scale, researchers are equipped to gain insight into biases that affect inter-group relations and develop policies and interventions that can promote social acceptance and inclusion.

With the use of the Bogardus scale, social gaps can be eliminated and unity can be achieved amongst diverse groups.

With Formplus you can create your Borgadus social distance scale survey, administer it to your target audience, and have the data analyzed in minutes.