Attention Control and Group Affiliation as Predictor of Electoral Behaviours Among Undergraduates
Keywords:
Attention-Control, Group-affiliation, Electorial behaviour, Voter apathyAbstract
The study examined the relationship between attention control and group affiliation on electoral behaviour among undergraduates of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. Empirical evidence revealed that not much is known about the nature of the relationship between attention control, group affiliation, and electoral behaviour among undergraduates. The participants for the study were 95 (34.7% male and 65.3% females) undergraduates who randomly volunteered from the department of Banking and Finance. Three instruments were used for data collection: The electoral behaviour scale Nweke, et al. (2022), the Attention control scale developed by Schwarzer, Dichl, & Schmitz (1999), and group affiliation were tested using demographic items. The study adopted a correlation design and statistics deployed for data management, zero-order, and multiple regression analysis enter-method. Results of the study revealed that group affiliation positively and significantly predicted electoral behaviour F (2, 94) = 3.30, p <.05. It was recommended that politicians and incumbent government should engage in behaviours that will enhance group cohesion among undergraduates to improve electoral behaviour.
References
Adams, S. M., & Zanzi, A. (2004). Course preparation for management consultants. Journal of Management Education, 28(6), 655–673. https://doi.org/10.1177/1052562903252657
Adams, S. M., & Zanzi, A. (2006). Developing political intelligence for making feasible decisions. Journal of Management Development, 25(4), 350–367. https://doi.org/10.1108/02621710610655828
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T
Anyika, V. O., & Ani, K.Y. (2021). Historical Review of electoral violence in Nigeria, 21-34.
Bach, R. L., Kern, C., Amaya, A., Keusch, F., Kreuter, F., Hecht, J., & Heinemann, J. (2021). Predicting Voting Behavior Using Digital Trace Data. Social Science Computer Review, 39(5), 862–883. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439319882896
Bornschier, S., Häusermann, S., Zollinger, D., &
Colombo, C. (2021). How “Us” and “Them” Relates to Voting Behavior—Social Structure, Social Identities, and Electoral Choice. Comparative Political Studies, 54(12), 2087–2122. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414021997504
Bello-Iman, I.B. (2015). Critical areas begging for electoral reforms in Nigeria. In S.O. Akande &A.T. Simbine (eds) Electoral Reforms in Nigeria (pp. 85-127). Ibadan: Nigeria Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER).
Becker, G. (1976). The economic approach to human behaviour, Chicago and London: The University of Chicago press, pp. 3-14.
Diehl, M., Semegon, A. B., & Schwarzer, R. (2006). Assessing attention control in goal pursuit: A component of dispositional self-regulation. Journal of Personality Assessment, 86(3), 306–317. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa8603_06
Endres, K., & Panagopoulos, C. (2019). Cross-pressure and voting behavior: Evidence from randomized experiments. Journal of Politics, 81(3), 1090–1095. https://doi.org/10.1086/703210
Endress, M. (2015). The social constructedness of resilience. Social Sciences, 4(3), 533–545. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci4030533
Fridman, M. (1953). Essays in positive economics, Chicago: University of Chicago press. P. 15, 22,31.
Garzia, D., & Ferreira da Silva, F. (2022a). Negativity and Political Behavior: A Theoretical Framework for the Analysis of Negative Voting in Contemporary Democracies. In Political Studies Review (Vol. 20, Issue 2, pp. 282–291). SAGE Publications Inc. https://doi.org/10.1177/14789299211000187
Garzia, D., & Ferreira da Silva, F. (2022b). Negativity and Political Behavior: A Theoretical Framework for the Analysis of Negative Voting in Contemporary Democracies. In Political Studies Review (Vol. 20, Issue 2, pp. 282–291). SAGE Publications Inc. https://doi.org/10.1177/14789299211000187
Hobolt, S. B. (n.d.). The Emotional Voter. An Experimental Study of the Moderating Effect of Emotions on Partisan Behavior.
Isiaq, A. A., Adebiyi, O. M., & Bakare, A. R. (2018a). Ethnicity and Election Outcomes in Nigeria: Interrogating the 2015 Presidential Election. Journal of African Elections, 117–139. https://doi.org/10.20940/jae/2018/v17i1a6
Isiaq, A. A., Adebiyi, O. M., & Bakare, A. R. (2018b). Ethnicity and Election Outcomes in Nigeria: Interrogating the 2015 Presidential Election. Journal of African Elections, 117–139. https://doi.org/10.20940/jae/2018/v17i1a6
Ivanchenko, A., Timchenko, O., Zamperini, A., Testoni, I., Gant, O., & Malyk, I. (2020). Features of intellectual functions inhibition among Ukrainian boxers: A sociocultural study. European Journal of Mental Health, 15(1), 23–37. https://doi.org/10.5708/EJMH.15.2020.1.2
Korte, R. F. (2007). A review of social identity theory with implications for training and development. In Journal of European Industrial Training (Vol. 31, Issue 3, pp. 166–180). https://doi.org/10.1108/03090590710739250
Langenkamp, A. (2021). Lonely Hearts, Empty Booths? The Relationship between Loneliness, Reported Voting Behavior and Voting as Civic Duty. Social Science Quarterly, 102(4), 1239–1254. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12946
Lau, R. R., Kleinberg, M. S., & Ditonto, T. M. (2018). Measuring voter decision strategies in political behavior and public opinion research. Public Opinion Quarterly, 82, 325–350. https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfy004
Lee, H. (2020). Voters’ involvement, attitude, and confidence in the era of new media. Palgrave Communications, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-019-0368-9.
Martin, N., de Lange, S. L., & van der Brug, W. (2022). Holding on to voters in volatile times: Bonding voters through party links with civil society. Party Politics, 28(2), 354–364. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354068820980304
Menczer, F., Flammini, A., Conover, M. D., Ratkiewicz, J., Francisco, M., Gonçalves, B., Flammini, A., & Menczer, F. (2011). Political Polarization on Twitter. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221297916
Nweke, *, Ndigwe, K. O., Ajaegbu, B. C., & Udemezue, D. C. (n.d.). Nexus between Personality Traits and Electoral Behaviour of Senior-Non-Teaching Employees of Nnamdi Azikiwe University.
Nyiayaana, K. (n.d.). Voting without Choosing? Ethnic Voting Behaviour and Voting Patterns in Nigeria’s 2015 Presidential Election and Implications for Institutionalisation of Social Conflicts.
Nyiayaana, K., & Jack, J. T. C. B. (2021). Leadership & Developing Societies Chinese Investments in Nigeria and the Political Economy of Trade, 1999-2019: A Leadership Perspective ARTICLE. LDS, 6(1), 2021. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4326-8544.
Olakunle, O., Bamidele, R., Modupe, A., Oluwaseun, O., & Magdalene, A. (2019). TRENDS IN ELECTORAL VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA. Journal of Social Sciences and Public Policy, 11(1). www.cenresinpub.com.
Osumah, O. (2016). Paradigm Shift: Youth Engagement in the Conduct of the 2015 Elections in Nigeria. Journal of African Elections, 15(1), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.20940/jae/2016/v15i1a1
Otjes, S., Stroebe, K., & Postmes, T. (2020). When Voting Becomes Protest: Mapping Determinants of Collective Action Onto Voting Behavior. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 11(4), 513–521. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550619872482
Osumah, O. & Aghemelo, T. (2010). Elections in Nigeria since the end of military rule. Africana. Volume 4(2).
Segovia, C., & Gamboa, R. (2020). Between knowing and feeling: emotions and the vote in the 2017 Chilean presidential election. Opiniao Publica, 26(3), 452–474. https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-01912020263452
Sheeran, P., & Webb, T. L. (2016). The Intention–Behavior Gap. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 10(9), 503–518. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12265
Shockley, B., & Gengler, J. J. (2020). Social identity and coethnic voting in the Middle East: Experimental evidence from Qatar. Electoral Studies, 67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2020.102213
Smith, S. M. (n.d.). Determining Sample Size How to Ensure You Get the Correct Sample Size.
van Stekelenburg, J., & Klandermans, B. (2018). In Politics We Trust…or Not? Trusting and Distrusting Demonstrators Compared. Political Psychology, 39(4), 775–792. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12464
Vasilopoulos, P. (2019). Affective Intelligence and Emotional Dynamics in Voters’ Decision-Making Processes. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.767
Wulandari, I., Kusnanto, K., Wibisono, S., & Haryani, A. (2021). Family support in caring for diabetes mellitus patient: Patient’s perspective. Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences, 9(T4), 199–205. https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2021.5778