Truly Evil or Simply Angry: Individualism, Collectivism, and Attributions for the Events of September 11th
Author(s): Kelly Anthony, Francine Rosselli, Linda Caparyan
Abstract: One hundred forty-one undergraduates completed a questionnaire designed to assess individualism, collectivism, patriotism, and responses to the September 11th terrorist attacks. Higher scores on the individualism scale were associated with the tendency to make internal attributions for attacks as well as greater desire for military retaliation. Higher scores on the collectivism scale were expected to be positively correlated with external attributions, but were surprisingly positively correlated with internal attributions. Patriotic responses were also positively correlated with the tendency to make internal attributions for the attack as well as increased suspicion of foreigners and a desire for military retaliation. Findings suggest that self identity may offer some understanding concerning how people respond to nationally important events or crises.
Pages: 147-158
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