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2018 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

6. Terrorism as a Reminder of Mortality

Author : Matteo Vergani

Published in: How Is Terrorism Changing Us?

Publisher: Springer Singapore

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Abstract

This chapter presents a detailed discussion of the results of two experiments using real cases to evoke death thoughts and worldview defence. The first experiment examines the reactions to the exposure to news excerpts relating to flight MH17, which was shot down by a missile over eastern Ukraine en route from Amsterdam to Melbourne. The second experiment looks at the reactions to the thought of the April 2013 Boston marathon bombing. The results show that the salience of the two incidents evokes death thoughts and decreases the study participants’ support for a peer advocating domain-relevant political violence.

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Footnotes
1
The country appearing in the statement was the one chosen by the respondents when, at the beginning of the questionnaire, they were asked to provide their country of birth. For example, if the respondent was born in Australia, he or she visualized the sentence as “We have to defend the people born in Australia from the arrogance of other races and religions that threaten us.”
 
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Metadata
Title
Terrorism as a Reminder of Mortality
Author
Matteo Vergani
Copyright Year
2018
Publisher
Springer Singapore
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8066-1_6