Measuring the will to obey the law: Development and validation of the law‐abiding volition scale

Abstract

Purpose

Law-abiding volition is the capacity to make choices within a set of legal constraints. This capacity plays a crucial role in promoting compliance with laws among individuals. This is the first study to construct an instrument measuring Law-Abiding Volition for adult populations—the Law-Abiding Volition Scale (LAVS).

Method

A large-scale online survey was conducted (N = 13,806, 50.5% male, Mean age = 35.83 years). An exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis identified a three-factor structure comprising (1) voluntary compliance, (2) resistance to breaking the law and (3) determination to obey the law. The scale demonstrates good internal consistency and satisfactory construct and convergent validity.

Results

Individuals with legal training show significantly higher levels of law-abiding volition than those with no such training, and the LAVS scores accounted for a greater proportion of the variance in daily law-abiding behaviour beyond several established predictors, including justice sensitivity, social norm espousal and psychopathic traits.

Conclusion

Taken together, the LAVS appears to be an appropriate tool for assessing individuals’ volitional level in adherence to laws and may offer important insights into developing educational initiatives aimed at promoting adherence to laws and regulations.