FightandFlight: Evidence of Aggressive Capitulation in the Face of Fear Messages from Terrorists

Abstract

In an era of digital technology and the Internet, terrorists can communicate their threats directly to citizens of Western countries. Yet no research has examined whether these messages change individuals' attitudes and behaviour, or the psychological processes underlying these effects. Two studies (conducted in 2008 and 2010) examined how American, Australian, and British participants responded to messages from Osama bin Laden that threatened violence if troops were not withdrawn from Afghanistan. Heightened fear in response to the message resulted in what we call "aggressive capitulation," characterized by two different group-protection responses: (1) submission to terrorist demands in the face of threats made against one's country, and (2) support for increased efforts to combat the source of the threat, but expressed in abstract terms that do not leave one's country vulnerable. Fear predicted influence over and above other variables relevant to persuasion. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Understanding the power of the picture: the effect of image content on emotional and political responses to terrorism

“…More specifically, Iyer et al. () showed that fear about terrorism predicts support for aggression only when there are few direct costs for the ingroup. In the present paper, we propose that fear is based in participants' view of terrorists as strong perpetrators, which indicates a formidable adversary who has the power to aggress again.…”

“…Such selfprotection may be achieved either by running away from the threat (i.e., flight; Roseman et al, 1994) or attempting to appease or mollify those responsible for the threat (Frijda et al, 1989;Iyer & Oldmeadow, 2006). Recent research (e.g., Iyer, Hornsey, Vanman, & Esposo, 2013;Spanovic, Lickel, Denson, & Petrovic, 2010) indicates that fearful individuals can be strategic in choosing a self-protective response. More specifically, Iyer et al (2013) showed that fear about terrorism predicts support for aggression only when there are few direct costs for the ingroup.…”

“…Recent research (e.g., Iyer, Hornsey, Vanman, & Esposo, 2013;Spanovic, Lickel, Denson, & Petrovic, 2010) indicates that fearful individuals can be strategic in choosing a self-protective response. More specifically, Iyer et al (2013) showed that fear about terrorism predicts support for aggression only when there are few direct costs for the ingroup. In the present paper, we propose that fear is based in participants' view of terrorists as strong perpetrators, which indicates a formidable adversary who has the power to aggress again.…”

Feeling Terrified?

“…Indeed, research on audiences who have been exposed to terrorist violence through traditional media show that media saturation following a terrorist attack can result in "mean world" syndrome whereby audiences overestimate the risk of becoming the victim of terrorism and demonstrate an irrational desire for overprotection (Matusitz 2012). This overreaction to negative emotions has been shown to manifest as a form of catastrophising in which audience members feel either increased aggression towards out-groups, particularly when they share the same religion or ethnicity as the terrorists (Kiper and Sosis 2015), or an opposite fear that encourages capitulation to terrorist demands (Iyer et al 2015). This ability of media exposure to terrorism to create fear, anxiety, anger, aggression, and prejudice towards an out-group has been shown to be more pronounced than in media about other forms of crime (Shoshani and Slone 2008;Nellis and Savage 2012).…”

A return of the repressed: Symptom, fantasy and campaigns for justice for Guantánamo detainees post-2010

“…In other words, the fear as to what might happen took over and resulted in the decline of the support. Numerous scholars of political and social psychology (Cheung-Blunden and Ju, 2016; Iyer et al, 2015; Thórisdóttir and Jost, 2011; Valentino et al, 2008) speak about the effect emotions have on politics and explicitly identify fear and anxiety as two emotions which hinder democratic political participation and yet commonly accompany perceptions of insecurity and terrorist threat. The change of attitude also coincides with the Supreme Court’s decision in Al-Adahi .…”