Generational Egoism: Concept and Measurement.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Sciences

Background:

• Generational egoism is defined as prioritizing present generation benefits without considering future consequences.
• This behavior is characterized by a short-term focus and a disregard for long-term impacts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the conceptualization and development of a measure for generational egoism.
• To assess the psychometric properties of the Generational Egoism Questionnaire (GEQ).

Main Methods:

• Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to validate the GEQ.
• Correlations were examined between the GEQ and other personality and well-being measures.

Main Results:

• Factor analyses confirmed a one-factor structure for the GEQ.
• The GEQ demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency (r = 0.88) and validity.
• GEQ scores correlated with specific personality traits like narcissism and psychopathy, but not well-being.

Conclusions:

• The Generational Egoism Questionnaire is a psychometrically sound instrument.
• The GEQ is suitable for future research and practical applications in education.