The Impact of Terrorism on Perceptions of Justice and Decision-Making

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This research project will investigate the effects of security threats and death-related thoughts on our decision-making processes. Specifically, the following research questions will be addressed: (1) how do events that threaten our security and remind us of our mortality affect perceptions of the fairness of policies that diminish civil liberties; and (2) how do security threats and death-related thoughts affect the relationship between one's fairness perceptions and later judgments about policies, authorities, and institutions? These questions are particularly important in light of the recent trend following 9/11, whereby Americans appear more willing to defer without reservation to authorities' imposition of severe restrictions on civil liberties, with very little opportunity for public comment and discussion. This trend runs counter to numerous psychological social justice studies, which show that individuals consider it fairer and are more satisfied when they are allowed meaningful input into policies that affect them. In addition, these judgments of fairness and satisfaction have important implications for citizens' commitment to and perceptions of the legitimacy of institutions and authorities. On the other hand, this trend is consistent with studies of terror management, which show that when individuals are forced to contemplate their own mortality, they embrace others whom they perceive to be defenders of their cultural worldview and place greater emphasis on core values such as national security.A series of studies will examine factors that influence individuals' willingness to defer to authorities and tolerate policies that limit individual rights and freedoms under experimental conditions where half of the participants are forced to contemplate their own death. University students will be administered questionnaires and asked to indicate (1) their reactions to university policy changes that limit rights and freedoms in response to a major or minor security threat, (2) their evaluations of the institutional authorities who impose those changes, and (3) their commitment to the institution. Participants confronted with their own mortality are expected to be more tolerant of policies, more positive in their evaluations of authorities and more committed to institutions, as well as less concerned about the opportunity for public comment and discussion than those who are not confronted with thoughts about their own death, especially in response to a major security threat.