End of World Beliefs Scale
A measure for assessing individual differences in the content of people's end of world beliefs.
The measure is a five-factor scale, which covers a set of content domains that have been hypothesized to be psychologically-consequential, as they relate conceptually to foundational psychological constructs. The bolded headings above each set of five items refer to these content domains.
Scale Instructions: Please imagine the event(s) that you believe will most likely be the end of the world, then report how much you agree or disagree with the following items. [1-7; strongly disagree – strongly agree].
Perceived Closeness
1. The world will end within my lifetime.
2. The apocalypse will directly affect my life and the lives of the people I love.
3. There are constantly things happening in the world that tell me the apocalypse will happen very soon.
4. Sometimes I get the feeling that the world could end today.
5. The possibility of the world ending is an immediate concern for me.
Anthropogenic Causality
1. I believe that human actions will cause the end of the world.
2. The failure to address pressing global issues will bring about the apocalypse.
3. Human stupidity will likely destroy the entire world.
4. Humans have become so powerful that they can easily cause the extinction of the human race.
5. I am convinced that humans will cause the apocalypse.
Theogenic Causality
1. I believe that divine intervention will cause the end of the world.
2. The apocalypse is predicted by religious prophecies or scriptures that I believe are true.
3. The end of the world is part of a cosmic or divine plan for the universe.
4. I am convinced that God (or other supernatural beings) will cause the apocalypse.
5. My understanding of how the apocalypse will unfold is primarily shaped by my religious beliefs.
Personal Control
1. Whether or not the world ends is in the hands of regular people, like me.
2. There are things I can do that will affect when or how the world will end.
3. I can make choices that increase the likelihood of the end of the world happening.
4. I have personal control over the things that will cause the world to end.
5. My good behavior plays a role in the apocalypse.
Emotional Valence
1. The end of the world will ultimately be a good thing.
2. The apocalypse is a necessary step towards utopia.
3. Everyone should look forward to the end of the world.
4. While the apocalypse will be bad for some people, it will certainly be good for others.
5. The idea of the world ending is something I welcome with enthusiasm.
Citation to original validation article:
Billet, M. I., White, C. J. M., Shariff, A., & Norenzayan, A. (in press). End of world beliefs are common, diverse, and predict how people perceive and respond to global risks. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Preprint available: osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/hq59n