Sociology Plus
Bogardus Social Distance Scale Definition
The Bogardus social distance scale is a technique for measuring social distance — the degree of closeness or separation people feel towards members of a particular social group. Pioneered by Emory S. Bogardus in the 1930s, it has been applied above all to the study of ethnic relations, but also to social classes and social values more broadly.
How It Works
The scale gauges respondents’ warmth, intimacy, indifference, or hostility towards a given group by asking them to agree or disagree with a graded series of statements about relationships they would accept. In the case of a religious or ethnic group, for example, respondents might be asked whether they would accept its members as visitors to the country, fellow citizens, neighbours, personal friends, or close relatives by marriage. The technique assumes that the attitudes being measured can be arranged along a single continuum of social distance — here running from complete exclusion from the country at one end to close kinship by marriage at the other.
Related Techniques
The Bogardus scale is one of several methods for capturing social distance and social standing. Others include sociometric measurement, which maps patterns of attraction and rejection within groups, and occupational prestige scales, which ask respondents to rank the social standing of a range of jobs.