Two classes of political activists: evidence from surveys of U.S. college students and U.S. prisoners

ABSTRACT

We applied Latent Class Analysis (LCA) to responses to items from the Activism and Radicalism Intentions Scales (ARIS). In two studies (undergraduates n = 530) and prisoners (n = 670), item profiles identified four groups – Inert, Moderate Activists, Strong Activists, Radicals, and Mixed – that confirm and extend the levels of the Action Pyramid of the Two Pyramids Model of Radicalization. Radicals were a higher proportion of prisoners than undergraduate respondents (20% vs. 12%), and, among prisoners, Radicals were more likely than other groups to be gang members. The distinction between Moderate and Strong Activists is a surprising addition to the literature of political radicalization, and we suggest in the Discussion that the study of Activists, and comparison of Activists and Radicals for the same cause, deserve more attention.

KEYWORDS:

• Radicalism
• activism
• radicalization
• latent class analysis
• LCA
• two pyramids

Data availability statement

Restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used with the permission of the researchers who collected the data. Data used in Study 1 are available from Michael Becker, while data used in Study 2 are available from David Pyrooz and Scott Decker.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 We are most grateful to the study author, Michael Becker, for generously sharing his data with us.

2 We are most grateful to the authors of the study, David Pyrooz and Scott Decker, for their generosity in sharing their data, which were part of the Lone Star Project and the foundation of the following publications: Mitchell et al. (2018); Pyrooz and Decker (2019); Decker and Pyrooz (2019); Decker and Pyrooz (2020).

3 Visualization of the solutions with two to eight classes are available from the authors.

Additional information

Funding

Tomislav Pavlović’s work has been supported by a Croatian Science Foundation within Young Researchers’ Career Development Project – Training of Doctoral Students (DOK-01-2018) financed by the European Union from the European Social Fund (ESF). This publication reflects only the views of the authors; the European Commission and Research Executive Agency are not responsible for any information it contains. Sophia Moskalenko receives funding from the Office of Naval Research [grant number N000 14-21-275,485], however, any opinions, findings, or recommendations in this article do not reflect the views of the Office of Naval Research, the Department of the Navy or the Department of Defence.

Notes on contributors

Tomislav Pavlović

Tomislav Pavlović is a research assistant at the Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar. His research is dominantly focused on non-normative political participation and investigating the interactive contribution of determinants of radicalization.

Sophia Moskalenko

Sophia Moskalenko is a member of the Evidence-Based Cybersecurity Research Group at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. Her research has focused on the psychology of radicalization, self-sacrifice, and conspiracy theories. With Clark McCauley, she has co-authored several books, including the award-winning Friction: How Conflict Radicalizes Them and Us (2016), The Marvel of Martyrdom: The Power of Self-Sacrifice in the Selfish World (2019), and Radicalization to Terrorism: What Everyone Needs to Know (2020).

Clark McCauley

Clark McCauley is a Research Professor of Psychology at Bryn Mawr College. His research interests include stereotypes, group dynamics, and the psychological foundations of ethnic conflict and genocide. He is co-author of Why Not Kill Them All? The Logic and Prevention of Mass Political Murder (2006), co-author of Friction: How Radicalization Happens to Them and Us (2011, second edition 2017), co-author of The Marvel of Martyrdom: The Power of Self-Sacrifice in a Selfish World (2019), co-author of Radicalization to Terrorism: What Everyone Needs to Know (2020), and Founding Editor Emeritus of the journal Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict: Pathways toward Terrorism and Genocide.