post 9/11 attitudes: the effects of terrorism on political tolerance of arab americans and muslims...

Post 9/11 Attitudes:The Effects of Terrorism on Political Tolerance of Arab Americans and

Muslims

Linda J. SkitkaProfessor of PsychologyUniversity of Illinois at Chicago

Funded by the National Science Foundation

© Linda J. Skitka

What is political tolerance?

Political tolerance refers to people’s willingness to extend the same civil rights and privileges to those they like or agree with as those they dislike or disagree with“I wholly disapprove of what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” - VoltairePrevious cross-sectional national surveys reveal an apparent link between terrorist attacks and subsequent erosion of political tolerance, e.g., immediately following the Oklahoma City Bombing, and following the 9/11 attacks

Do you think it will be necessary for the avg person to give up some civil liberities to fight

terrorism or not?

49

29

90

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1995 1997 1999 2001

% w

ho b

elieve it

is n

ecessary

Oklahoma City Bombing

Immediately post 9/11

Links between terrorism and willingness to sacrifice civil liberties

U.S. Government reactions to 9/11

Hasty passage of the USA-Patriot Act gave the government unprecedented capacity to engage in surveillance of people’s behaviorGovernment detained more than 700 people without charges“Voluntary” registration of people with specific immigration historiesNew restrictions on foreign studentsHost of other possible infringements on civil liberties

Despite widespread public debate about the erosion of civil liberty and political tolerance…

Two-thirds of Americans reported that they were willing to sacrifice additional civil liberties to fight terrorism (ABC News/Washington Post Poll, October, 2001)

One in four thought that the Bush Administration had not gone far enough to restrict civil liberties in the months immediately following the attack (Gallup News Service, Nov. 29, 2001)

Goals of the current study

To explore more specifically American’s degree of political tolerance with respect to groups they may perceive to be symbolically as threatening (e.g., Arab Americans, Muslims, or first-generation immigrants) To test hypotheses about why terrorist acts erode political tolerance

Method

A national random sample of N=550 people completed surveys at three different times

Time 1 survey (Sept. 14- Oct 1. 2001)Measured immediate post-9/11 assessments of anger and fear (4-items each)

Time 2 Survey (Dec. 28, 2001 - January 14, 2002)

Political tolerance scale Should (Arab Americans/Muslims/First

generation immigrants): be allowed to make a public speech have their phones tapped by the government

Time 2 Survey (Dec. 28, 2001 - January 14, 2002) be allowed to hold public rallies not be allowed to purchase or own guns be subject to more thorough searches in airports

or public buildings than other people be required to carry special identification be able to be legally held by authorities even if

not charged with a specific crime.

Other measures

Other scales- Perceived personal threat Value affirming behaviors (e.g., blood

donation, attempts to be a better person, charitable giving)

Moral outrage behaviors (e.g., admitting to having said something like “We should just nuke the middle east”)

Psychological closure ( “The crisis is now over”)

Time 3 Survey-March 13-April 1, 2002

Measured political tolerance of other groupsHalf the participants identified the group they disliked least out of a list

Time 3 Survey-March 13-April 1, 2002

The other half identified the group they disliked mostParticipants then answered the same political tolerance scale that we used in the Time 2 survey with respect to either Arab Americans, Muslims, or First Generation Immigrants

GroupsDislike most Dislike least

Religiousfundamentalists

4 11

Those pro-choiceon abortion

4 22

Those pro-life onabortion

1 14

AmericanCommunists

5 2

Ku Klux Klan 32 6

American racists 21 5

American Nazis 18 3

Those whooppose prayer inpublic schools

11 11

Feminists 3 20

Creationists 1 7

What did we learn?

Immediate Post- 9/11 reactions

Moral Outrage

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Said "just nukethem."

Talked about needfor war.

Blew off steam byexpressing anger

Per

cen

tag

e

Value Affirmation

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Increased doingnice things for

family & friends

Tried to be abetter person

Flew theAmerican flag

Donated Blood IncreasedChurch

Attendance

Pe

rce

nta

ge

What are the psychological dynamics that shape whether people become more politically intolerant following a terrorist attack?

© Linda J. Skitka

AngerAnger

FearFear

The degree that people responded to the attackswith anger versus fear turned out to be important

shaping how they subsequently coped with the attack, and on their subsequent degree of political tolerancetoward Arab Americans, Muslims, and first generation

immigrants

AngerAnger

FearFear

Moral outrage

Moral outrage

PerceivedThreat

PerceivedThreat

Value Affirmation

Value Affirmation

.70

.56

.54

AngerAnger

FearFear

Moral outrage

Moral outrage

PerceivedThreat

PerceivedThreat

Value Affirmation

Value Affirmation

.70

.56

.54

Political Toleranc

e

Political Toleranc

e

-.32

.28

-.35

AngerAnger

FearFear

Moral outrage

Moral outrage

PerceivedThreat

PerceivedThreat

Value Affirmation

Value Affirmation

.32

.41

ClosureClosure

.00

AngerAnger

FearFear

Moral outrage

Moral outrage

PerceivedThreat

PerceivedThreat

Value Affirmation

Value Affirmation

Political Toleranc

e

Political Toleranc

e

ClosureClosure

.27

Conclusions

Terrorism does successfully undermine a cornerstone of liberal democracy--political toleranceHowever, not all the news is bad

Conclusions

Although Americans were surprisingly willing to sacrifice personal civil liberties to fight terrorism, they showed more temperate reactions toward Arab Americans, Muslims and new immigrants than one might at first expect given this “willingness to sacrifice”Americans are more tolerant of these groups than their “most disliked” groups, and as tolerant of them as their “least disliked” groups

Understanding the psychological dynamics of political intolerance following a terrorist attack

People experience considerable distress following terrorist attacksEffects of anger and fear differ

Understanding the psychological dynamics of political intolerance following a terrorist attack

Anger leads people to cope by venting their rage, that in turn leads to higher levels of intolerance toward Arab Americans, Muslims, etc.

Understanding the psychological dynamics of political intolerance following a terrorist attack

When fear is channeled primarily into perceptions of increased threat of future terrorist attack, it too leads to higher levels of intoleranceHOWEVER-- when fear leads people to engage in value affirming behaviors, they become MORE, NOT LESS, tolerant of groups like Arab American, Muslims etc.

Expressions of moral outrage and value affirmation

Expressing one’s rage or channeling one’s fear into value affirmation both also lead people to effectively come to closure about the trauma associated with the terrorist attacksWhen people feel that they can put the event behind them, they also become more tolerant

Expressions of moral outrage and value affirmation

Taken together some good take home lessons for how to keep intolerance from becoming completely undermined

In closing

As tragic, grim, and life shattering the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were, they have also provided us to learn more about the foundations of political tolerance.With more knowledge, we can better follow Patrick Henry’s injunction to a “guard with jealous attention the public liberty.”