Abstract
Citizens usually participate in two ways in politics: conventional and unconventional political action. The latter type covers a wide range of behaviors that do not conform to the rules defined under a specific regime. Among the most significant unconventional expressions are the signing of petitions, boycotts, legal demonstrations, illegal strikes, and the occupation of buildings. In this article, the psychometric properties of a scale to measure unconventional political action in Spain are assessed. This scale was included in the last World Values Survey (of 1995-1996). The sample used in that survey contained 6,920 persons in Spain. The data from Spain are analyzed for the country as a whole and by region. Reliability, as indicated by Cronbach's alpha, is acceptable, and construct validity (tested with a principal components analysis, a differential study, and a correlational study) supports the use of the scale to differentiate persons in unconventional political action.
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