The Heidelberg Acceptance Scale: An instrument assessing the acceptance and rejection of migrants

Separation and distancing from people perceived as strange play an important role in inter-group discriminations. This was taken into account when constructing the questionnaire which is to be presented. The instrument: is based on items concerning approval or disapproval of accepting and distancing utterances about "foreigners". The items were derived from interviews with subjects (N = 54) who were asked to state their attitudes towards the "stop foreigners" topic. The 22-item Heidelberg Acceptance Scale (HAS) has been developed and validated using samples of subjects from different social categories, such as university students, employed and unemployed persons, and pensioners (N = 144). The reliability and differential validity of the questionnaire are analyzed. Its one-dimensional concept is supported by factor analysis and a very high level of internal consistency (Cronbach's Alpha = .91). The inventory also demonstrates significant differentiation among the four subject categories (p < .001). Research possibilities with this easy-to-apply instrument, which measures the elementary dimension of social acceptance, are discussed.