Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No.4, 2015

Social Prosperity and Social Confidence in the Developmental Process—Constructing Concepts, Scales and Indices

(Abstract)

Zhang Yan, Wei Qingong and Li Hanlin

Characterizing the social fact of the sum of public sentiment in terms of social prosperity and confidence enables us to observe and analyze the overall circumstances and operational trends of social development and to reflect on and feel the pulse of social development by means of a “barometer.” The construction of measurement and observation instruments allows us to conduct tests using national survey data. The test results show the reliability and validity of the scales in our research design. On this basis, we can set up indices of social prosperity and confidence in a methodological construct based on the standardized conversion of normal variables and unified dimensions. The statistical data indicate that, taking 2012 as a base point, indices of both social prosperity and social confidence showed a steady increase in 2013 and 2014.