Predictors of Activism and Radicalism: Past Activism, Past Radicalism and Grievance Against the Government

The study aimed at testing the relationship between grievance, activism and radicalism. Researchers gathered 429 participants from across the United States and randomly divided them into two experimental conditions. One group was given questions about past and future intention to engage in activism-radicalism first, followed by questions about any grievance against the US government; the other group was given grievance questions came first, followed by questions about activism and radicalism. Questions from the study were designed in order to determine how past behavior may relate to future behavior in regards to activism and radicalism. The major variables that were included in this study were demographics, future/past activism, grievances with the United States government, and attitudes toward U.S. law enforcement.