Abstract: The aim of the research was to find out the relation between sensitivity to injustice and other personality traits. The authors based their view on the ...
ŠTÚDIA PSYCHOLOGICA, 44, 2002, 2
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SENSITIVITY TO INJUSTICE IN THE CONTEXT OF SOME PERSONALITY TRAITS* Ladislav LOVAŠ1, Richard WOLT2 1 Faculty of Public Administration, University of P. J. Šafarik Moyzesova 50, 040 01 Kosice, Slovak Republic 2 Department of Psychology, Philosophical Faculty of the Prešov University Ul. 17. novembra 1, 080 78 Prešov, Slovak Republic
Abstract: The aim of the research was to find out the relation between sensitivity to injustice and other personality traits. The authors based their view on the definition of sensitivity to injustice as a personality trait and some research findings regarding the reactions toward events considered as unjust. In order to obtain the relevant data the authors developed a questionnaire measuring the frequency of occurrence of unjust events in the classroom. To measure the personality traits use was made of the FPI. The research was conducted on a sample of 128 secondary school stu dents. It was found that students who are more aggressive, egocentric, suspicious, mistrustful, immersed in their own thoughts and introspective, harboring feelings of misunderstanding and unfair treatment, are more sensitive to injustice. Key words: sensitivity to injustice, personality trait, aggression
The tendency to perceive a person’s be havior as unjust, or self as an object of unjust treatment by other people, has been variously denoted as sensitivity to injustice (Lovaš, 1995), sensitivity to befallen injus tice (Schmitt, Neumann, Montada, 1995) and sensitivity to justice (Schmitt, Dorfel, 1999). Sensitivity to injustice was defined as a tendency to perceive other people’s behavior toward self as unjust and to react to this event as to injustice. Sensitivity to injustice rests on the assumption that indi viduals differ consistently in their disposi tion to perceive a given procedure or distribution as unjust. That is to say, sensi tivity to injustice is conceptualized as a personality trait (Schmitt, Dorfel, 1999). In virtue of key personality aspects, viz. men tal attributes, features, traits, we make out a person’s mental specificity, i.e. his/her individual psychological characteristics. A * This research was supported, in part, by Grant agency for science (grant VEGA No 1/7106/20).
personality trait is either an inborn or an acquired quality which is consistent, per sistent and stable (Nakonečný, 1998; Osecká, 2000). According to Balcar (1983), a personality trait is a hypothetical variable which, we presume, could be applied to the structure of the organism and its relation to the environment. Hence, this involves consistency in the manifesta tions of an individual’s behavioral charac teristics and his experiencing, a general ization of these manifestations in the same individual under different circumstances. The warrant of the construct ’sensitivity to injustice’ as a personality trait was also proved by empirical research. The results of the research conducted by Schmitt and Dorfel (1999) imply that individuals sensi tive to justice have a lower perceptual threshold for breaking the norms of justice and it also seems that justice is to be an issue of prime interest to sensitive people. The research by Lovaš (1995) confirmed the relationship between the frequency of
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unjust events and the frequency of inten sive anger. Pirháčová (1997) investigated the negative affective states caused by events considered unjust. From her re search it ensues that situations considered to be unjust generate especially anger, irritation, enmity, resistance and antipathy. Lovaš and Pirháčová (1996) investigated the reciprocal relationships of anxiety, anger and sensitivity to injustice. They found that respondents with higher scores in anxiety and anger were more sensitive to injustice. These authors reported a high er frequency of unjust events and also a correspondingly higher frequency of anger as a reaction to injustice. PROBLEM AND HYPOTHESIS In our research we tried to find out what is the relationship between sensitivity to injustice and particular personality traits. We assumed the existence of a reciprocal relationship between sensitivity to injustice and personality traits, especially sponta neous aggression, depression, excitement, reactive aggression and emotional insta bility. We also assumed a higher frequency of unjust events and higher intensity of experiencing by the students who are rath er depressed, excited, emotionally unsta ble, with a disposition to spontaneous and reactive aggression.
mensions - frequency, anger, intrusiveness and punitiveness. Presented in these 4 dimensions is the same list of events that are considered to be unjust. To answer the various questions, the respondents were asked to use a 4-point scale. The answers in the particular dimensions were summed up and we thus gained a raw score for the factors: frequency, anger, intrusiveness and punitiveness. The sum of scores in these factors gives a total score for the questionnaire of sensitivity to injustice (Lovaš, Wolt, in press). To determine the personality traits we used the Freiburg Personality Inventory FPI, designed by Fahrenberg, Selg and Hampel. This inventory was standardized in this country by Kollárik, Poliaková and Ritomský 1992). The FPI is a multidi mensional test of personality and con tains 9 basic dimensions: 1) nervousness, 2) spontaneous aggression, 3) depression, 4) excitement, 5) mildness, 6) counte nance, 7) reactive aggression, 8) restraint, 9) openness. There are three supplemental scales: E - extroversion-introversion, N emotional stability-instability, M - mascu linity-femininity. In our research we used the short version K. The answers were interpreted in accordance with the stan dardized procedure stated in the test manu al. Statistics
Sample The sample consisted of 128 high school students from five classes - 48 males and 80 females, average age 16.45 years.
The data were processed by using the software STATISTICA. To verify our hypothesis we used the correlation analysis and the analysis of variance.
METHOD
RESULTS
In our research we used the questionnaire of sensitivity to injustice in the classroom SvN-St. This questionnaire carries 4 di
In our first hypothesis we assumed a mutual relationship to exist between sensi tivity to injustice and personality traits.
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Using the correlation analysis we found some significant relationships. The results are listed in Table 1. The discovered rela tionships are significant on the level 0.05. Frequency of occurrence of unjust events The correlation analysis proved a signifi cant relation between the dimension fre quency of occurrence of unjust events and the scales depression (r = 0.20) and mascu linity (r = -0.22). The analysis of variance
showed that students with a higher fre quency of occurrence of unjust events reached a higher percentile in the scale depression and a lower percentile in the scale masculinity. The results of the analy sis of variance are listed in Table 2. The results of the analysis of variance permit us to state that students with a high er frequency of occurrence of unjust events are more pessimistic, depressed, have feel ings of inferiority and guilt, and are aggressive toward themselves.
Table 1. Relationship between sensitivity to injustice and personality traits FI Frequency
Personality traits / Sensitivity to injustice
F4Total score F2F3Anger Intrusiveness Punitiveness in SvN
Nervousness
0.17
-0.02
0.11
0.13
0.14
Spontaneous aggression
0.14
0.00
-0.01
0 .1 9 *
0.13
Depression
0 .2 0 *
0.07
0 .2 0 *
-0.04
0.13
Excitement
0.01
0.00
0.03
0.14
0.09
Mildness
-0.04
-0.04
-0.07
-0.13
-0.10
Countenance
0.07
-0.04
-0.30 *
0.01
-0.11
Reactive aggression
0.08
0 .3 2 *
-0.04
0 .4 9 *
0 .3 8 *
Restraint
0.03
-0.04
0.04
0.00
0.02
Openness
0.10
-0.07
0.07
0.05
0.05
Extroversion
0.01
-0.06
-0.10
-0.02
-0.07
Emotional stability
0.08
0.09
0.21
0.03
0 .1 8 *
0.09
-0.13
0.09
-0.05
Masculinity
-0.22 *
*
* < 0.05 Table 2. Influence of the frequency of occurrence of unjust events on the score in the scales depression and masculinity Average values in the scales of FPI Depression Masculinity * < 0.05
Students with high frequency
F tests
47.02
68.66
5.704 *
61.83
42.84
5.641 *
Students with low frequency
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Frequency of occurrence of anger We found a significant relation to exist between the dimension frequency of oc currence of anger as a reaction to injus tice and the scale reactive aggression (r = 0.32). From the results listed in Table 3 it follows that students with a higher frequency of occurrence of anger as a reaction to injustice reached a higher per centile in the scale reactive aggression. From the results it follows that students with a higher frequency of anger as a reac tion to injustice are more egocentric, suspi cious, mistrustful and reactively aggres sive.
sis of variance (Table 4) it results that stu dents with high scores in the factor "intru siveness" achieved higher values in the scales depression and emotional stability and lower scores in the scale "patience". The results given in Table 4 show that students with higher scores in the factor "intrusiveness" are more pessimistic, de pressed, annoyed, with feelings of inferior ity and guilt, low self-confidence, are mis trustful, engrossed in their own thoughts and musings, have feelings of misunder standing and unjust treatment.
Intrusiveness The correlation analysis revealed a sig nificant relationship between the indicator "intrusiveness" and the scales depression (r = 0.20), patience (r = -0.30) and emo tional stability (r = 0.21). From the analy
Punitiveness We found a significant relationship be tween the indicator "punitiveness" and the scales "spontaneous aggression" (r = 0.19) and "reactive aggression" (r = 0.49). The analysis of variance (Table 5) proved that students with higher scores in the factor "punitiveness" also obtained higher scores in the scales "spontaneous and reactive aggression".
Table 3. Influence of anger occurrence as an indicator of sensitivity to injustice on values in the scale "reactive aggression" ' Average value in the scale of FPI
Students with low frequency of anger occurrence
Students with high frequency of anger occurrence
F test
Reactive aggression
27.48
58.42
13 972 ***
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