Development of a scale to measure belief in cooperation

Abstract

The purposes of the present study were to develop a scale that would enable the measurement of the belief in cooperation, and to substantiate the reliability and validity of the new scale. In Study 1, exploratory factor analysis of data from 1,020 university and technical college students revealed that the belief in cooperation was composed of 3 factors: usefulness of cooperation, individual orientation, and inequity. Confirmatory factor analysis of the factors showed sufficient fitness. We named this scale "The Belief in Cooperation Scale". In Study 2, research with 2,156 university and technical college students showed concurrent validation of the scale. In Study 3, research with 97 university students who had attended a class that used cooperative learning revealed the interventional and predictive validity of the scale. The practical uses of the scale and future considerations were discussed.