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

这个研究项目将调查安全威胁和与死亡有关的想法对我们决策过程的影响。具体而言，将解决以下研究问题：(1)威胁我们的安全并提醒我们死亡的事件如何影响对减少公民自由的政策公平性的看法；(2)安全威胁和与死亡相关的思想如何影响一个人的公平感知与后来对政策、当局和制度的判断之间的关系？鉴于9/11之后的趋势，这些问题尤为重要，美国人似乎更愿意毫无保留地服从当局对公民自由施加的严格限制，公众评论和讨论的机会很少。这一趋势与许多心理社会正义研究背道而驰，这些研究表明，当个人被允许对影响他们的政策做出有意义的贡献时，他们认为这更公平，也更满意。此外，这些对公平和满意度的判断对公民对机构和当局的合法性的承诺和看法有重要的影响。另一方面，这种趋势与恐怖管理的研究是一致的，这些研究表明，当个人被迫考虑自己的死亡时，他们会拥抱那些他们认为是他们文化世界观捍卫者的人，并更加强调国家安全等核心价值观。在一半参与者被迫思考自己的死亡的实验条件下，一系列研究将审查影响个人服从当局和容忍限制个人权利和自由的政策的意愿的因素。大学生将接受问卷调查，并被要求说明(1)他们对大学政策变化的反应，这些政策变化是为了应对重大或轻微的安全威胁而限制权利和自由的，(2)他们对实施这些变化的机构当局的评估，以及(3)他们对机构的承诺。与那些没有想到自己的死亡，特别是在应对重大安全威胁时没有想到自己的死亡的人相比，面对自己的死亡的参与者预计会对政策更宽容，对当局的评价更积极，对机构更忠诚，对公众评论和讨论的机会更不关心。

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.