Measures of attitudinal polarization

Abstract.— Criteria for measures of attitudinal polarization, i. e., degree of opposition among people on a specific issue, are proposed and some formulas, including the standard deviation, are evaluated in relation to the criteria. The formulas were also tested on empirical data with respect to level, dispersion and agreement of received values. The measures on the whole showed a high degree of agreement. There clearly exist instances where the standard deviation is not an adequate measure of attitudinal polarization. Some guidelines are given for the choice of constant values in one of the formulas.