Attitudinal and Emotional Consequences of Islamist Terrorism. Evidence from the Berlin Attack
Attitudinal and Emotional Consequences of Islamist Terrorism. Evidence from the Berlin Attack
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DOI：
10.1111/pops.12679
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发表时间：
2020-06-22
影响因子：
4.6
通讯作者：
Nussio, Enzo
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Nussio, Enzo
对西方世界伊斯兰主义者发起的恐怖袭击的研究表明，最近对公众舆论的影响有所下降。如何解释这一发展？我认为，更广泛的恐怖袭击受众已经变得麻木。当公民越来越多地预期会发生攻击时，就会发生认知脱敏，从而降低了态度改变的可能性。当观众对攻击失去敏感性时，情绪脱敏就会发生，从而缓和了情绪的唤起。为了评估脱敏的影响，我分析了2016年柏林圣诞市场袭击事件前后进行的一项调查，并考虑了被调查者的基线信息，由于数据限制，这种方法以前没有使用过。我发现对政府的信任、民族认同和伊斯兰教的观点等态度仍然没有改变。袭击发生后，悲伤和愤怒情绪立即加剧。因此，更广泛的德国观众可能已经预料到了一场袭击，但在短期内仍然对其情绪敏感。这些调查结果是相关的，因为政治领导人在移民甚至战争等领域的重要政策变化中提到了袭击后公众舆论的变化。
Studies about Islamist-inspired terror attacks in the Western world have identified a recently declining impact on public opinion. What explains this development? I argue that the wider audience of terrorist attacks has become desensitized. Cognitive desensitization occurs when citizens increasingly expect an attack, reducing the likelihood of attitudinal change. Emotional desensitization occurs when audiences lose sensitivity to attacks, tempering emotional arousal. To assess the implications of desensitization, I analyze a survey conducted around the Berlin Christmas market attack in 2016 and account for baseline information of the surveyed individuals, an approach not used before due to data limitations. I find that attitudes like trust in government, national identification, and views of Islam remain unchanged. Sadness and anger are heightened in the immediate aftermath of the attack. The wider German audience may thus have expected an attack but still be emotionally sensitive to it in the short term. These findings are relevant as political leaders have justified important policy changes in fields like migration and even war making with reference to supposed shifts in public opinion after attacks.