2022/07/19 by Mathias Kauff · 2 voices
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion #Suicide and Self-Harm Studies #Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence
paper · doi:10.1080/00224545.2022.2095968
openalex publication_date 2022/07/19 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
The present work investigates whether the assumed religious background of a perpetrator in a carried out (Study 1) and attempted mass shooting (Study 2) influences attribution of the crime to mental health problems or terrorist motives as well as to evaluation of appropriate punishment. In two experimental studies (n = 113 and n = 340) participants were confronted with a scenario depicting an (attempted) mass shooting that was either carried out by a perpetrator with a German or an Arabic/Muslim name. Results indicate that compared to a perpetrator with a German name, a shooting carried out by a perpetrator with an Arabic/Muslim name led to increased attributions to a terrorist motive and fewer attributions to mental health problems. Moreover, in Study 2, this attribution pattern was accompanied by increased punitiveness. The findings are discussed against the background of previous work showing comparable results as well as practical implications.