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On the (In)Compatibility of Attitudes Toward Peace and War
Author(s) -
Bizumic Boris,
Stubager Rune,
Mellon Scott,
Van der Linden Nicolas,
Iyer Ravi,
Jones Benjamin M.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
political psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.419
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1467-9221
pISSN - 0162-895X
DOI - 10.1111/pops.12032
Subject(s) - ideology , social psychology , authoritarianism , harmony (color) , politics , psychology , confirmatory factor analysis , structural equation modeling , sociology , political science , law , democracy , art , statistics , mathematics , visual arts
Although attitudes toward peace and war are usually treated as two opposite poles of one dimension, in this article we argue that they may represent two distinct dimensions. To investigate this idea, we developed and tested a new balanced measure, the Attitudes Toward Peace and War ( APW ) Scale, in three studies ( N = 4,742) in the U nited S tates and D enmark. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses showed that attitudes toward peace and war formed two distinct, though negatively related, factors. Structural equation modeling showed that antecedents of attitudes toward peace included egalitarian ideological beliefs, the values of international harmony and equality, and empathic concern for others, and consequences included intentions to engage in peace‐related activities. On the other hand, antecedents of attitudes toward war included authoritarian ideological beliefs, the values of national strength and order, and less personal distress, and consequences included intentions to engage in warlike activities. Results also showed that political affiliation had an impact on the relationship between peace and war attitudes, with conservatives less likely to find the attitudes incompatible. The findings support the view that attitudes toward peace and war represent two distinct dimensions.