Terrorism in the eyes of the beholder: The impact of causal attributions on perceptions of violence

Shaul Kimhi, Daphna Canetti-Nisim, Gilad Hirschberger

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This research examined the effect of attributions on attitudes toward terrorism. Participants (111 Israeli Jews and 91 Israeli Palestinians) were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 violent scenarios (i.e., a Jew shooting a Palestinian or a Palestinian shooting a Jew) and answered questions on attributions and denunciation of violence. Results indicated that Palestinians attributed more external, local, and unstable motivations to perpetrators compared to Jews. Moreover, Palestinians expressed tolerance of violence when the perpetrator was a Palestinian who was perceived to be motivated by external motivations. However, Palestinians also expressed greater support of peace. The discussion examines the role of attributions in ethnic conflict.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)75-95
Number of pages21
JournalPeace and Conflict
Volume15
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2009
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Political Science and International Relations

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