Description

The Revised Generalized Ethnocentrism Scale (GENE-59) is a comprehensive psychometric instrument designed to assess the degree of ethnocentrism exhibited by individuals across diverse cultural and social contexts. Developed by James W. Neuliep, the scale measures the tendency to perceive one’s own ethnic, cultural, or national group as superior while evaluating other groups through the lens of one’s own cultural norms and values.

The GENE-59 consists of 59 Likert-type items that examine multiple dimensions of ethnocentric attitudes, including in-group preference, perceptions of cultural superiority, attitudes toward members of other ethnic or cultural groups, and openness to intercultural interaction. Rather than focusing solely on prejudice, the instrument provides a broader assessment of how individuals perceive and evaluate cultural differences.

The scale is extensively used in social psychology, intercultural communication, sociology, political science, education, and multicultural studies, providing researchers and practitioners with valuable insights into the psychological mechanisms underlying intergroup attitudes and intercultural relationships.

Data Analysis and Applications

The GENE-59 enables the quantitative assessment of ethnocentrism and supports the investigation of factors influencing attitudes toward individuals from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. The instrument can be applied to:

  • Measure levels of generalized ethnocentrism across different populations.
  • Examine relationships between ethnocentrism, prejudice, stereotypes, discrimination, xenophobia, and social distance.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of intercultural education, diversity training, and inclusion programs.
  • Investigate the association between ethnocentrism and variables such as cultural identity, nationalism, political orientation, empathy, and intercultural competence.
  • Support research in psychology, sociology, communication studies, education, anthropology, and political science.
  • Compare intercultural attitudes across countries, cultures, demographic groups, and professional populations.

Its broad applicability makes the GENE-59 particularly valuable for cross-cultural and international comparative research.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Revised Generalized Ethnocentrism Scale (GENE-59) is to provide a reliable and objective measure of generalized ethnocentrism while enhancing our understanding of attitudes that influence intercultural communication and social interaction. The scale also serves as an important evaluation tool for educational, organizational, and community-based interventions designed to promote cultural awareness, diversity, tolerance, and intercultural understanding.

Scoring

The GENE-59 consists of 59 statements, each rated on a Likert-type response scale (typically five or seven response categories, depending on the version administered), allowing respondents to indicate their level of agreement with each statement.

Scoring generally includes:

  • Total Score, representing the overall level of generalized ethnocentrism.
  • Reverse scoring for selected items to ensure consistent interpretation.
  • Higher scores, indicating stronger ethnocentric attitudes, greater in-group favoritism, and a stronger tendency to perceive one’s own cultural group as superior.
  • Lower scores, reflecting greater intercultural openness, acceptance of diversity, and positive attitudes toward members of other cultural and ethnic groups.

Statistical Analysis

The statistical evaluation of GENE-59 data typically includes modern psychometric and inferential statistical techniques, such as:

  • Descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations, and score distributions).
  • Internal consistency assessment using Cronbach’s alpha.
  • Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to validate the scale’s dimensional structure.
  • Correlation analyses examining relationships between ethnocentrism and demographic, psychological, and social variables.
  • Group comparisons using t-tests, ANOVA, MANOVA, or non-parametric statistical procedures.
  • Regression analyses and structural equation modeling to identify predictors of ethnocentric attitudes and intercultural behavior.

Validity

The validity of the GENE-59 has been established through numerous international validation studies demonstrating strong construct, convergent, discriminant, and cross-cultural validity. Factor analytic findings consistently support the theoretical structure of the instrument, while empirical studies have shown that the scale effectively differentiates individuals with varying levels of ethnocentrism, intercultural sensitivity, and prejudice.

Reliability

The Revised Generalized Ethnocentrism Scale demonstrates strong psychometric performance across diverse cultural settings. Validation studies have consistently reported satisfactory internal consistency, stable reliability coefficients, and robust measurement properties, making the GENE-59 a reliable instrument for both academic research and applied intercultural assessment.

References

Neuliep, J. W. (2002). Revised Generalized Ethnocentrism Scale (GENE-59). Communication Research Reports, 19(3), 248–259.

Neuliep, J. W., & McCroskey, J. C. (1997). The Revised Generalized Ethnocentrism Scale. Communication Research Reports, 14(2), 162–169.

McCroskey, J. C., & Neuliep, J. W. (1999). The Revised Generalized Ethnocentrism Scale. In Measures for Clinical Practice and Research: A Sourcebook (4th ed., Vol. 1, pp. 320–322). Oxford University Press.

Gudykunst, W. B., & Kim, Y. Y. (2003). Communicating with Strangers: An Approach to Intercultural Communication. McGraw-Hill.