Description

The People in General Scale (PIGS-20) is a psychometric questionnaire designed to assess individuals’ general beliefs and perceptions about other people and human nature.

The scale examines general social attitudes and beliefs concerning characteristics of people and social relationships, including aspects such as trust, honesty, cooperation, and perceptions of interpersonal relationships.

The PIGS-20 can be applied in social psychology, personality research, interpersonal relationships studies, and investigations examining how general beliefs about people influence social behavior.

Objective

The primary objective of the PIGS-20 is to record and quantify individuals’ general perceptions regarding human nature and social relationships.

The questionnaire aims to help researchers understand how these beliefs influence social interactions, interpersonal behavior, and patterns of social engagement.

Structure and Content

The PIGS-20 consists of a series of statements or questions related to general beliefs about people and society.

The main areas assessed include:

Trust in Others, referring to beliefs about whether people are generally reliable and trustworthy.

Honesty and Integrity, assessing perceptions regarding the moral characteristics of other people.

Cooperation and Social Relations, evaluating beliefs about people’s willingness to collaborate and maintain positive social relationships.

Scoring

Participants respond to questionnaire statements using a Likert-type scale, typically ranging from:

1 = Strongly Disagree

to

5 = Strongly Agree

Scores are calculated by aggregating responses across items to produce an overall index representing the individual’s general perception of people.

Individual item scores may also be examined to identify specific patterns or tendencies in social perceptions.

Higher scores indicate more positive perceptions of people, whereas lower scores suggest more negative or distrustful views.

Data Analysis and Use

The PIGS-20 provides quantitative information regarding individuals’ general attitudes toward other people and society.

The collected data can be used to examine relationships between social beliefs and variables such as interpersonal trust, social behavior, cooperation, and relationship quality.

The scale may be useful in research exploring how perceptions of human nature influence social interactions and behavioral choices.

Statistical Analysis

Statistical analysis of PIGS-20 data may include descriptive statistics, such as means and standard deviations, to evaluate overall levels of positive or negative social perceptions.

Reliability analysis can be conducted using internal consistency measures, such as Cronbach’s alpha, to assess the consistency of questionnaire items.

Factor analysis may be applied to examine the underlying dimensions of beliefs about people and social relationships.

Correlation analyses can investigate associations between general perceptions of people and other psychological or social variables.

Validity

The validity of the PIGS-20 is supported by its focus on established social psychology concepts related to beliefs about human nature, trust, and interpersonal relationships.

The questionnaire is designed to capture general social attitudes that may influence interpersonal interactions and social behavior.

Reliability

The available document does not provide specific reliability coefficients, such as Cronbach’s alpha or test–retest reliability values.

Reliability evaluation should be conducted within each research sample through appropriate psychometric procedures.

References

Banta, T. J. (1961). Social attitudes and response styles. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 21, 543–557.

Robinson, J. P., & Shaver, P. R. (1969). Measures of Political Attitudes. Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.