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Terror threat perception and its consequences in contemporary Britain
Robin Goodwin1, Michelle Willson, Stanley Gaines
1School of Social Sciences and Law, Brunel University, UK. robin.goodwin@brunel.ac.uk
British Journal of Psychology (London, England : 1953)
|October 27, 2005
Summary
Social psychologists studied terrorist threat perception after 9/11. Demographic factors, values, and social norms influence threat perception, impacting behavior and relationships.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Terrorism Studies
- Societal Impact
Background:
- The 9/11 attacks and subsequent global terrorism highlighted the need to understand public responses.
- Social psychology offers a framework for examining threat perception and its effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate factors predicting terrorist threat perception.
- To explore the consequences of threat perception on behavior and relationships.
Main Methods:
- Two studies were conducted with 100 and 240 participants, respectively.
- Data collected included demographic information, individual values, normative influences, and self-reported behavioral changes and relationship contact.
Main Results:
- Study 1 found gender, benevolence values, and normative influences predicted threat perception. Personal threat correlated with increased social contact.
- Study 2 demonstrated that age, gender, location, openness to change, and hedonism values predicted threat perception, which subsequently influenced behavioral changes and relationship contact.
Conclusions:
- Demographic factors, personal values, and social norms significantly shape how individuals perceive terrorist threats.
- Understanding threat perception is crucial for social psychologists to address public responses to terrorism.