How Is Terrorism Changing Us? : Threat Perception and Political Attitudes in the Age of Terror

"This book examines how the perception of terrorism threat erodes civil liberties, sows doubt about the loyalties of immigrants, and heightens the left-right ideological divide. The book presents original analysis of survey data and experiments conducted in Australia, Europe and the United States. Research in the book posits questions that others have largely avoided: How does the threat of terrorist violence undermine multicultural democracies? What are the psychological and social mechanisms that explain how the threat of terrorism can change political attitudes? What is the relationship between terrorism and death threats? What is the role of media in shaping the perception of terrorism threat? And what are the ethical responsibilities of journalists? This book will help readers distinguish between groundless speculation and solid scientific knowledge of the topic. Moreover, it provides concrete recommendations on how to prevent the most negative consequences of the polarization of political attitudes, such as social divisions, exclusivism and conflict. Given the broad geographical scope of the research presented in the book, specifically North America, Europe and Australia, this book will appeal to broad scope of readers."-- Publisher's website Foreword 6 Preface 8 Contents 10 List of Figures 11 List of Tables 13 List of Boxes 14 Chapter 1: Introduction 15 1.1 Social Versus Individual Mechanisms 18 1.2 Who Is “Us”? Five Reasons Why the Effects of Terrorism Threat Are Similar in Europe, Australia and North America 20 1.3 What Is Terrorism? 23 1.4 Design, Samples, Dependent and Independent Variables 27 1.5 Overview of the Volume and Chapter Outline 28 1.6 Conclusion 31 References 32 Chapter 2: The Effects of the Perceived Threat of Terrorism on Groups 35 2.1 The Enemy’s Threat 35 2.2 Terrorism as Political Engineering: The Strategy of Tension 37 2.3 How Does Terrorism Change People’s Attitudes? Insights from Social and Psychological Theories 40 2.4 Are the Perceived Threat and the Real Threat of Terrorism Different? 45 2.5 The Existing Empirical Research on the Perception of Terrorism Threat 47 2.6 Do Individual Differences Predict Different Responses to the Threat of Terrorism? 50 2.7 Conclusion 52 References 53 Chapter 3: Perceived Terrorism Threat and Ideology 58 3.1 Is Terrorism Different from Other Threats? 58 3.2 Does Terrorism Threaten Both Left-Wing and Right-Wing People? 62 3.3 Perceived Terrorism Threat and Anti-system Attitudes 67 3.4 Examining the Direction of the Causal Relationship: Does Terrorism Threat Change People’s Attitudes? 74 3.5 Conclusion 77 References 80 Chapter 4: Terrorism and the Media 82 4.1 Why Do Journalists Prioritize Terrorism? 83 4.2 What Are the Effects of Terrorism News Exposure on People’s Political Attitudes? 85 4.3 Terrorism News in Market-Oriented Media Systems 88 4.4 Terrorism News Online and the Role of Active Internet Users 91 4.5 A Comprehensive Model to Explain the Impact of Media Exposure on Terrorism Concerns and Related Political Attitudes 94 4.6 Conclusion 98 References 98 Chapter 5: Terrorism and Death 103 5.1 Terrorism as an Existential Motive 103 5.2 The Impact of Death Thoughts on People’s Psychology 106 5.3 Terror Management Theory 108 5.4 Mortality Salience and Worldview Defence 110 5.5 Are Mortality Salience and Terrorism Salience the Same? 113 5.6 Death Reminders and Political Attitudes 115 5.7 Conclusion 118 References 118 Chapter 6: Terrorism as a Reminder of Mortality 124 6.1 The MH17 Experiment 125 6.2 The Boston Marathon Bombing Experiment 132 6.3 General Discussion 134 6.4 Conclusion 138 References 139 Chapter 7: Mortality Salience and Political Violence 143 7.1 Do Individual Differences Moderate MS Effects? 144 7.2 Study 1 146 7.3 Study 2 152 7.4 General Discussion 153 7.5 Conclusion 155 References 156 Chapter 8: Conclusion 161 8.1 Terrorism Threat and Populism 161 8.2 The Polarization of Identities 165 8.3 The Erosion of Trust Between Immigrants and Host Societies 167 8.4 What Can We Do to Counter the Negative Effects of Perceived Terrorism Threat? 169 8.5 A Code of Terrorism News Reporting 171 8.6 Conclusion 173 References 174 Index 180 "This is an elegant and magisterial treatment of the matter of our times. The insights contained in this important book will be invaluable for psychologists and political scientists and for political analysts, practitioners and commentators. The book will also serve as a superb starting point for students and lay readers seeking a readable, but always scholarly, introduction of a psychological approach to political events. Not all journalists and politicians will welcome the author's policy recommendations but all of them need to read it."--Craig McGarty, Western Sydney University, Australia "This book provides compelling evidence on the ways in which terrorist violence undermines multicultural democracies in Australia, Europe, and the United States and rips at the very fabric of liberal democracy. Vergani arrives at this conclusion through the analysis of survey data and focused experiments informed intellectually by a rich blend of psychological, sociological, and political thinking."--Leonie Huddy, Stony Brook University, USA "Matteo Vergani's book provides a comparative analysis of a troubling phenomenon especially in established democracies and it is a valuable resource for grasping the complex array of causes underlying it. This is a smart and timely must read for those interested in the consequences of terrorism on political attitudes and opinion climates."--Gianpietro Mazzoleni, University of Milan, Italy How does the threat of terrorist violence undermine multicultural democracies? What are the psychological and social mechanisms that explain how the threat of terrorism can change political attitudes? What is the role of media in shaping the perception of terrorism threat? And what are the ethical responsibilities of journalists? This book presents analysis of survey data and experimental evidence collected in Australia, Europe and the United States, and discusses how terrorism erodes civil liberties, sows doubt about the loyalties of immigrants, and heightens the left-right ideological divide. Matteo Vergani is a postdoctoral researcher at Deakin University. His research focuses on political violence, its causes, its impact on society, and the study of what might prevent it "This is an elegant and magisterial treatment of the matter of our times. The insights contained in this important book will be invaluable for psychologists and political scientists and for political analysts, practitioners and commentators. The book will also serve as a superb starting point for students and lay readers seeking a readable, but always scholarly, introduction of a psychological approach to political events. Not all journalists and politicians will welcome the author's policy recommendations but all of them need to read it."--Craig McGarty, Western Sydney University, Australia "This book provides compelling evidence on the ways in which terrorist violence undermines multicultural democracies in Australia, Europe, and the United States and rips at the very fabric of liberal democracy. Vergani arrives at this conclusion through the analysis of survey data and focused experiments informed intellectually by a rich blend of psychological, sociological, and political thinking." -Leonie Huddy, Stony Brook University, USA "Matteo Vergani's book provides a comparative analysis of a troubling phenomenon especially in established democracies and it is a valuable resource for grasping the complex array of causes underlying it. This is a smart and timely must read for those interested in the consequences of terrorism on political attitudes and opinion climates." -Gianpietro Mazzoleni, University of Milan, Italy How does the threat of terrorist violence undermine multicultural democracies? What are the psychological and social mechanisms that explain how the threat of terrorism can change political attitudes? What is the role of media in shaping the perception of terrorism threat? And what are the ethical responsibilities of journalists? This book presents analysis of survey data and experimental evidence collected in Australia, Europe and the United States, and discusses how terrorism erodes civil liberties, sows doubt about the loyalties of immigrants, and heightens the left-right ideological divide. Matteo Vergani is a postdoctoral researcher at Deakin University. His research focuses on political violence, its causes, its impact on society, and the study of what might prevent it "This is an elegant and magisterial treatment of the matter of our times. The insights contained in this important book will be invaluable for psychologists and political scientists and for political analysts, practitioners and commentators. The book will also serve as a superb starting point for students and lay readers seeking a readable, but always scholarly, introduction of a psychological approach to political events. Not all journalists and politicians will welcome the author's policy recommendations but all of them need to read it." -Craig McGarty, Western Sydney University, Australia "This book provides compelling evidence on the ways in which terrorist violence undermines multicultural democracies in Australia, Europe, and the United States and rips at the very fabric of liberal democracy. Vergani arrives at this conclusion through the analysis of survey data and focused experiments informed intellectually by a rich blend of psychological, sociological, and political thinking." -Leonie Huddy, Stony Brook University, USA "Matteo Vergani's book provides a comparative analysis of a troubling phenomenon especially in established democracies and it is a valuable resource for grasping the complex array of causes underlying it. This is a smart and timely must read for those interested in the consequences of terrorism on political attitudes and opinion climates." -Gianpietro Mazzoleni, University of Milan, Italy How does the threat of terrorist violence undermine multicultural democracies? What are the psychological and social mechanisms that explain how the threat of terrorism can change political attitudes? What is the role of media in shaping the perception of terrorism threat? And what are the ethical responsibilities of journalists? This book presents analysis of survey data and experimental evidence collected in Australia, Europe and the United States, and discusses how terrorism erodes civil liberties, sows doubt about the loyalties of immigrants, and heightens the left-right ideological divide. Matteo Vergani is a postdoctoral researcher at Deakin University. His research focuses on political violence, its causes, its impact on society, and the study of what might prevent it "How does the threat of terrorist violence undermine multicultural democracies? What are the psychological and social mechanisms that explain how the threat of terrorism can change political attitudes? What is the role of media in shaping the perception of terrorism threat? And what are the ethical responsibilities of journalists? This book presents analysis of survey data and experimental evidence collected in Australia, Europe and the United States, and discusses how terrorism erodes civil liberties, sows doubt about the loyalties of immigrants, and heightens the left-right ideological divide."-- Back cover Front Matter ....Pages i-xvii Introduction (Matteo Vergani)....Pages 1-20 The Effects of the Perceived Threat of Terrorism on Groups (Matteo Vergani)....Pages 21-43 Perceived Terrorism Threat and Ideology (Matteo Vergani)....Pages 45-68 Terrorism and the Media (Matteo Vergani)....Pages 69-89 Terrorism and Death (Matteo Vergani)....Pages 91-111 Terrorism as a Reminder of Mortality (Matteo Vergani)....Pages 113-131 Mortality Salience and Political Violence (Matteo Vergani)....Pages 133-150 Conclusion (Matteo Vergani)....Pages 151-169 Back Matter ....Pages 171-174