Two Kinds of “Woke”? Psychometric Validation of the Critical Right Scale and Revised Critical Social Justice Attitudes Scale

Bibliographic Data

ID21392073
AuthorsOskari Lahtinen (0000-0002-8589-5370, INVEST Flagship/Department of Psychology University of Turku Turku Finland)
Year2026
Volume67
Issue3
Pages814-827
Publication date2026-06-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueScandinavian Journal of Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0036-5564 • E-ISSN: 1467-9450
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/sjop.70070
LanguageEN
References cited5

This study developed and validated the Critical Right Scale (CRS) to measure emerging critical right attitudes and revised the Critical Social Justice Attitudes Scale (CSJAS‐R), replicating its psychometric evaluation. A nationwide convenience sample of Finnish adults ( n = 626) completed an online survey. Item screening used exploratory factor analysis with oblique rotation and loading and residual correlation criteria. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and measurement invariance testing were conducted in lavaan using full information maximum likelihood. The final CRS consisted of five items with high reliability ( α = 0.89, ω = 0.90) and good model fit in both male and female subsamples, with pooled‐sample residual misfit judged minor given subgroup results. The CSJAS‐R comprised six items with strong reliability ( α = 0.88, ω = 0.89) and excellent fit. Both scales met configural and metric invariance; partial scalar invariance was achieved after freeing a small number of item intercepts. CRS scores were strongly associated with right‐wing and conservative self‐placement with higher scores concentrated among Finns Party and Christian Democrat voters, and weakly linked to perceived oppression. CSJAS‐R scores were strongly associated with left‐wing and liberal self‐placement with higher scores concentrated among Left Alliance and Greens voters, and had a small‐to‐moderate association with justification of political violence. CRS and CSJAS‐R were strongly negatively correlated ( r = −0.62), indicating divergent validity. Both CRS and CSJAS‐R demonstrated strong psychometric properties and distinct ideological profiles, providing validated tools for studying political attitude structures at opposing ends of the ideological spectrum

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