The Assessment of Tolerance of Military Personnel to Extremist Ideology

Abstract

The article focuses on the research of the diagnostic indicators of the assessment of tolerance of military personnel to extremist ideology. A methodical toolkit of the research included a structured interview on the proprietary questionnaire «Assessment of tolerance to manifestation of extremist ideology», «Bogardus Social Distance Scale» (E. Bogardus), «The California F-scale» personality test (T. Adorno, E. Frenkel-Brunswik, D. Levinson, R. Sanford), Allport's Scale of Prejudice (G. Allport, B. Kramer); the questionnaire «Types of ethnic identity» (G.U. Soldatova, S.V. Ryzhova) as well as expert assessment. 76 military personnel took part in the research (experts:16, subjects:60). Frequency, correlation and factorial analyses were used for empiric data processing. The statistically significant indicators related to tolerance of military personnel to extremist ideology were identified by comparing test and evaluation data. The disposition to ideology of extremism can be defined through such diagnostic parameters as «social distance», «reluctance to change», «authoritarian submission» and «aggression», «destructiveness and obscenity», «exaggerated importance of the force», etc. These personal features can be reckoned as a generalised psychological profile of an individual committed to extremist ideology. The highlighted indicators such as «Tolerance», «Signs of commitment to extremist ideology», «Ethnic attitudes», «Intolerant convictions» combine sings denoting an increased probability of an individual being involved in improper activities. A degree of impact (specific weight) of component factors on formation of propensity of a military to the ideology of extremism is exposed. According to the research report it is confirmed that the designed questionnaire «Assessment of tolerance to manifestations of extremism ideology» enables to detect the diagnostic parameters of tolerance of military personnel to extremist ideology. The approach permits to reckon the diagnostic indicators of tolerance to extremist ideology in forming specific research toolkit (questionnaires, forms, etc.). The material aims to improve psychodiagnostic and psychoprophylactic activities with the Armed Forces personnel of the Russian Federation.

Keywords

• diagnostic indicators
• tolerance to extremist ideology
• propensity to extremism
• intolerance
• diagnostic factor
• component
• psychodiagnostics
• psychodiagnostic assessment