Violent and Aggressive Attitudes of Activists as Related to Personality and Socio - Demographic Factors

Abstract

The present study attempts at investigating the similarities and differences of violence-aggressive attitudes for student activists, nonstudent activists and student no activists of different educational institutions of northern part of Bangladesh in relation to manifest hostility attitudes, personality variables and socio-demographic factors within the framework of socio-cultural background of Bangladesh. The study has been developed under the theoretical interpretation of (i) Biological theory of aggression and violence, (ii) Social learning theory of aggression and violence, (iii) Drive theory and manifest hostility, (iv) Ratter’s expectancy reinforcement model, (v) Authoritarian personality approach and (vi) Socio-demographic approach. All these approaches have been utilized and integrated in order to show similarities and differences of violent aggressive attitudes of student activists, non-student activists and student non-activists. The present study uses a multidimensional co relational approach with a criterion group design. The study was conducted into two phases. In the first phase criterion groups of student activists, nonstudent activists and student no activists were selected on the basis of an activism criteria questionnaire. All these three criterion groups were further sub-divided into two categories of upper middle and lower middle SES background. In the second phase, the criterion groups were given measures of (i) violent aggressive attitudes, (ii) Serial’s manifest hostility attitudes, (iii) Ratter’s I-E control of personality, (iv) Kool's authoritarian personality and (v) socio-economic status differences. The study utilized three samples drawn from different educational institutions of northern part of Bangladesh. The study was composed of 360 respondents equally divided into student activists, nonstudent activists and student no activists. Each sample was sub-divided into upper middle and lower middle SES background. Respondents of two samples were randomly selected from male and female undergraduate and postgraduate students of the academic year 2003-2004. They were named as student activists and student no activists. Respondents of sample three were selected from the political individuals of all political parties. They were named as nonstudent activists. The main objective of the present investigation were to make a comparative study of the patterns of the attitudes and personality of student activists, nonstudent activists and student nonactivists of northern part of Bangladesh as related to Violence and aggressive attitudes like political violence, social violence, institutional violence, administrative violence and sex violence in the violence - nonviolence continuum. Manifest hostility attitudes. Personality variables of 1-E control and authoritarianism. SES background of upper middle and lower middle. Three differential violence-aggressive attitudinal pattern of student activists, nonstudent activists and student no activists. Five Specific hypotheses were formulated. These were as follows: 1) control of personality variable as compared to non-student activists and student non-activists respectively. 2) It is hypothesized that student activists would score higher on the personality variable of authoritarianism as compared to nonstudent activists and student no activists respectively. 3) It is also hypothesized that student activists, non student activists and student non activists having upper middle SES would score higher on the attitudinal variables (i.e. violent and aggressive attitudes; manifest hostility attitudes) as well as personality variables (i.e. internal-external control and authoritarianism) as compared to lower middle SES background respectively. Analysis of data has been divided into three parts. In the first part inter group differences on violence-aggressive attitudinal variables, manifest hostility attitudes, personality variables i.e. internal-external control and authoritarianism and SES variables have been computed by univariate method using t-test. Further intergroup differences between homogenous groups were computed on each variable separately. In the second part, of analyses bi-serial correlations using product moment method were computed to find out the similarities of violent aggressive attitudes between intergroup and intergroup. The strength of relationship of violent-aggressive attitudes with manifest hostility attitudes and personality variable i.e. internal-external control and authoritarianism has been shown through inter variable correlations using product moment method for each group of student activists, non student activists and student non activists separately. In the third part, factor analyses of 45 items of violent-aggressive attitudes was computed using Kaiser's principal method of oblique rotation for three groups of student activists, nonstudent activists and student no activists separately. These multivariate correlational matrices intended to generate structural properties of violence-aggressive attitudes leading to the identification of similarities and dissimilarities among three groups of student activists, nonstudent activists and student non activists violence aggressive attitudinal patterns. Results obtained strongly supported the hypotheses. It showed that violent-aggressive attitude was considerably moderated by manifest hostility attitudes, personality variables and SES variables. The important findings reflected through the factor analyses of violent aggressive attitudes were the three differential pattern of distinct attitudinal patterns for student activists, non student activists and student non activists which might be assumed to be caused by socio-politico-economic variation. Cultural homogeneity did appear to be important variable in determining violence-aggressive attitudinal preferences conditioned by socio-economic differences. The findings of the present study are explainable by Freud's instinctive theory, Bandura's social learning theory, Siegel's drive theory, Adorno ET. Al theory of authoritarian personality and Rotter's expectancy reinforcement model. An attempt has been made to integrate all these approaches into a new theoretical perspective in . which violence-aggressive attitudinal preferences along with manifest hostility attitudes, personality characteristics, socio-economic status context jointly share the violent aggressive attitudes. The study has emphasized socio-economic, political and cultural factors instead of genetic factors, which are the determinants of violent-aggressive attitudes.