Factorial Surveys in Social Psychology: Study of Perception of the Justice of Governmental Support Distribution Among Socially Excluded Groups

The report presents the results of pilot study which is aimed to development and testing of the questionnaire for measuring within mass survey the public’s perception of the justice of governmental support distribution among socially excluded groups. The questionnaire oriented on using survey technique, which is based on experimental approach, named factorial survey design. In the process of survey, the respondents receive the descriptions of hypothetical situations, which could potentially be in real life. Those descriptions are called vignettes. The respondents should evaluate the possibility or even necessity of support provision from the state to the person that is trapped in the described life circumstances. The purpose of the analysis of judgments about various life circumstances from the different respondents is identify impact of separate factors and its interactions on the perception of certain groups of people (those who are involved in certain difficult life circumstances) as those who are need help, and therefore socially excluded. The dimensions aiming at formation of possible hypothetical situations were chosen based on the theory of social justice as well as criteria of needs, control and identity. During the pilot study, 65 respondents assessed 120 vignettes. The results of collected data regression analysis is the basis of conclusion about the possibility of applying the proposed questionnaire in the mass surveys; and the conformity of the received measuring results to the previously formulated in the process of the vignette universe construction hypotheses. The findings of pilot study indicates that such factors as the position in the labor market, presence of children, the status of internally displaced persons and level of income are the statistically significant factors in the decision making process of providing governmental financial support.