In recent years, understanding and mitigating hate crimes and extremist behaviours have become crucial in maintaining societal harmony. A new open access study has made significant strides in this field by introducing the Hate Behaviours Scale (HBS), a tool designed to measure individuals’ propensity towards hateful actions. This innovative scale not only sheds light on the psychological underpinnings of hate but also opens new avenues for research and policy intervention.
The HBS is a validated twelve-item scale, divided into three subscales: Discrimination, Defensive Violence, and Belligerent Violence. Each subscale targets specific dimensions of hate behaviour, ranging from subtle discrimination to outright violent aggression. The scale was validated using data from three independent U.S. adult samples, totalling 3524 participants, ensuring its reliability and validity.
The Discrimination subscale focuses on actions that might not necessarily be criminal but can significantly impact social cohesion. These include behaviours that deny equal rights or avoid interaction with certain groups. Defensive Violence, on the other hand, captures intentions to engage in physical violence, often justified as protecting one’s group from perceived threats. Belligerent Violence includes more overtly aggressive actions, like direct threats or incitement to violence against an outgroup.
What sets the HBS apart is its ability to predict past behaviours linked to hate, such as participating in protests against a target group, physical aggression, or sharing offensive jokes online. This predictive capacity is crucial in understanding how hate manifests and evolves over time.
Another significant contribution of the HBS is its alignment with current understandings of hate behaviour. It revises and adapts Allport’s famous scale of prejudice to contemporary settings, acknowledging that modern hate behaviours are often framed as defensive. The scale recognises that hate is not just a straightforward expression of animosity but is often intertwined with perceptions of threat and defence.
The introduction of the HBS is a significant step forward in hate studies. It offers a nuanced, empirically grounded tool for researchers and practitioners. Its application can inform policy and interventions aimed at curbing hate crimes and extremist behaviours. The scale’s potential to identify individuals at different stages of hateful intentions – the so-called “conveyor belt of hate” – can be pivotal in CVE interventions.