Rokeach and the closed mind
Milton Rokeach, writing in 1960, wanted a concept of rigid belief that did not apply solely to one side of politics. He described open and closed belief systems, proposing that closed minds divide the world sharply into those who agree and those who do not, and depend heavily on authorities for what to believe. His Dogmatism Scale was widely used in the years that followed.
Measuring it
Rokeach's scale drew criticism for psychometric weaknesses and overlap with related traits. Altemeyer later created the DOG Scale to focus on unchangeable certainty.
- Certainty that one's beliefs are right
- Unwillingness to revise in the face of evidence
- Discomfort with ambiguity
- Dismissal of those who disagree
Religion, politics and open questions
Survey studies often find higher scores among religious fundamentalists, but item wording can tilt results when items are closer to one worldview than another. Researchers have examined dogmatism among non-believers and found that strong, inflexible convictions can occur there as well. Whether dogmatism is more common on one side of the political spectrum remains under dispute. Holding a belief strongly is not in itself dogmatic if that belief is well supported and open to revision. Most research is correlational, so the origins of dogmatic thinking remain unclear.
Further reading
- Rokeach, M. (1960). The Open and Closed Mind. Basic Books.
- Altemeyer, B. (1996). The Authoritarian Specter. Harvard University Press.