The Computer Administered Panel Study (CAPS) collected demographic, personality, attitudinal, and other social psychological data from annual samples of University of North Carolina undergraduates from 1983 through 1988. Respondents spent 60 to 90 minutes per week for 20 weeks during the academic year answering questions via computer terminals. In their comparison of demographic and academic variables, researchers found few significant differences between respondents and the general undergraduate population. This dataset contains the Religion Life Inventory, which consists of three scales: External, Internal, and Interactional. As of October 2003, information about the full survey could be found at http://www.irss.unc.edu/irss/shortcourses/wigginshandouts/capshandout0800.pdf
Additional modules are available for free download through the Odum Institute's electronic archive, http://www.irss.unc.edu/data_archive/home.asp
- Data File
- Cases: 93
Variables: 50
Weight Variable: none - Data Collection
- Date Collected: 1986
- Funded By
- The Odum Institute for Research in Social Science
- Collection Procedures
- Each year of the study, a random sample of registered University of North
Carolina undergraduates was invited to attend an orientation session about the
project. From those who attended and signed up to participate, 96 (half males
and half females) were chosen on the basis of scheduling compatibility. Each
week for 20 weeks, respondents spent 60 to 90 minutes during the academic year
answering questions via computer terminals. Respondents were paid a base rate
of $4 to $5 per completed weekly session and an average of $2 per session more
in rewards and bonuses, including a chance at a substantial end-of-year bonus
designed to keep subject attrition low. Data presented here was taken from 1986,
1987, and 1988. This information about the survey was taken from the Odum
Institute's summary of the CAPS program, which can be found at:
http://www.irss.unc.edu/irss/shortcourses/wigginshandouts/capshandout0800.pdf. - Principal Investigators
- The Odum Institute for Research in Social Science
- Related Publications
- C. Daniel Batson, Patricia Schoenrade, and W. Larry Ventis. 1993. Religion
and the Individual: A Social-Psychological Perspective. New York: Oxford
University Press. - Notes
- When citing this study, the following information should be included:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
(insert study date(s)) Computer Assisted Panel Study (CAPS)
[Computer file]. Chapel Hill: Institute for Research in Social Science
[producer]. Module (insert name of specific CAPS module(s) here). - For SID
- Because the subject's ID is derived from the CAPS year and a sequential number,
respondents can be tracked for an entire year's worth of experiments. Datasets
can also be merged using the respondent's ID. The original SID, as we received
it from the primary investigator, had an underscore between the year and the ID
number. The underscore was deleted to make the variable numeric, but the SID
was not changed in any other way.
For INTERNAL
The Internal scale was designed to measure a component of the intrinsic, end
orientation; the degree to which an individual's religion is a result of
internal needs for certainty, strength, and direction. Building upon Hoffer's
(1951) understanding of the true believer, the researchers assumed that these
needs would reflect an intrinsic, end orientation, since this orientation seems
to be based on a need to find firm and clear answers to existential questions.
There are nine items in the Internal scale. Items scored positively are
INNATE, GODSWILL, NECBELIF, DRVTRUTH, ESSNTIAL, and IMPSSNOT. NODIFRNC,
NOTCMPLD, and MUSTNOT are reverse coded.
For EXTERNAL
The External scale was designed to measure a component of the extrinsic, means
orientation; the degree to which an individual's external social environment
has influenced his or her personal religion. The researchers assumed that
religion, as a response to social influence, would reflect an extrinsic, means
orientation, since it would presumably be motivated by a desire to gain the
self-serving, extrinsic end of social approval. Accordingly, this scale
includes six items that assess the importance of authority figures and social
institutions in shaping people's religious experience. These items are CHRCHDE,
MINISTER, PARENTS, FELOWSHP, MODELS, which are scored positively, and OUTSDERS,
which is reverse coded.
For INTERACT
The Interactional scale was designed to measure the basic component of the quest
orientation; the degree to which an individual's religion involves an
open-ended, responsive dialogue with existential questions raised by the
contradictions and tragedies of life. There are six items on this scale.
These items were designed to address the three aspects of Allport's concept of
mature religion that were found to be missing from the Intrinsic and Committed
scales: readiness to face existential questions without reducing their
complexity (EVDAYEXP, INDEPDNT, LEARNREL), self-criticism and perception of
religious doubts as positive (WRLDEVNT, YRSAGO), and openness to change
(OTHOPNIN).
