Know What Excites Some Thrill-Seekers? Political Violence
After this horrendous week, it might shock you to know what lies behind most -- I didn't say criminals' -- need to commit political violence?
Thrill-seeking. That's right. People like it because it gets their adrenaline rolling, according to a new study as reported by newswise.com.
What drives someone to support or participate in politically or religiously motivated acts of violence, and what can be done to prevent them? While one factor may be a search for meaning in life, research published by the American Psychological Association suggests people may be further driven by an increased need for excitement and feeding that need with thrilling but non-violent alternatives may curb the desire.
Tell that to the MAGABomber and the mass murderer in the synagogue.
“Recently, scholars have discussed how youths are lured to join political or religious movements,” the web site quotes Birga Schumpe, PhD, a social psychologist at New York University Abu Dhabi and lead author of the study. “Although research has recently linked people’s search for meaning or significance with their willingness to use violence for a cause, our research suggests this is further advanced by a thirst for adventure.”
I believe the study was done before this most recent spurt of hate and destruction.
Schumpe and her colleagues surveyed 460 participants from Spain asking a series of questions designed to measure how much they were searching for meaning in life, to what extent they craved new, exciting experiences, how willing they were to sacrifice themselves for a cause and how much did they support political violence.
The researchers found that the search for meaning in life was strongly associated with a need for excitement and that, in turn, was associated with greater support for political violence. A second set of similar surveys, conducted three months apart with approximately 300 participants from Spain, found that the need for adventure increased over time in people who were searching for meaning in life and as that need got greater, so did their potential to support political violence.
The researchers next conducted an experiment online with 121 participants. Half were asked to participate in an activity designed to increase their sense of meaning in life (write an essay about their legacy) and half were given a random control activity (write about their favorite sport shoes), according to newswise.com.
They then completed the same set of surveys used previously. Those who wrote about leaving a legacy scored higher on feeling that their lives had meaning and subsequently lower in need for excitement and support of political violence than those who wrote about their shoes.
Thrill-seeking. That's right. People like it because it gets their adrenaline rolling, according to a new study as reported by newswise.com.
What drives someone to support or participate in politically or religiously motivated acts of violence, and what can be done to prevent them? While one factor may be a search for meaning in life, research published by the American Psychological Association suggests people may be further driven by an increased need for excitement and feeding that need with thrilling but non-violent alternatives may curb the desire.
Tell that to the MAGABomber and the mass murderer in the synagogue.
“Recently, scholars have discussed how youths are lured to join political or religious movements,” the web site quotes Birga Schumpe, PhD, a social psychologist at New York University Abu Dhabi and lead author of the study. “Although research has recently linked people’s search for meaning or significance with their willingness to use violence for a cause, our research suggests this is further advanced by a thirst for adventure.”
I believe the study was done before this most recent spurt of hate and destruction.
Schumpe and her colleagues surveyed 460 participants from Spain asking a series of questions designed to measure how much they were searching for meaning in life, to what extent they craved new, exciting experiences, how willing they were to sacrifice themselves for a cause and how much did they support political violence.
The researchers found that the search for meaning in life was strongly associated with a need for excitement and that, in turn, was associated with greater support for political violence. A second set of similar surveys, conducted three months apart with approximately 300 participants from Spain, found that the need for adventure increased over time in people who were searching for meaning in life and as that need got greater, so did their potential to support political violence.
The researchers next conducted an experiment online with 121 participants. Half were asked to participate in an activity designed to increase their sense of meaning in life (write an essay about their legacy) and half were given a random control activity (write about their favorite sport shoes), according to newswise.com.
They then completed the same set of surveys used previously. Those who wrote about leaving a legacy scored higher on feeling that their lives had meaning and subsequently lower in need for excitement and support of political violence than those who wrote about their shoes.
In a similar experiment, 305 participants were asked either to write about a time when they were searching for meaning in life or write about the last time they went shopping for shoes. Those who wrote about searching for meaning subsequently reported a greater need for meaning in life, which was associated with higher levels of adventure seeking and, again, support for extreme political violence.
Additional online experiments involving more than 800 participants confirmed the findings, but in those the researchers measured support for a hypothetical extreme activist group and determined that support for the activist group was due in part to participants’ identifying the group as exciting.
“In recent years, many approaches to counter violent extremism have tried to tackle people’s ideologies by producing counter-messages pleading them to say no to violence or trying to convince them that the foundations of their belief system are inappropriate or wrong,” concludes Schumpe. “Our research indicates that this latter approach is likely to backfire and have the opposite of the intended effect. Interventions to counter violent extremism should be geared either toward helping individuals make meaning of their lives or redirecting their desire for thrilling experiences toward exciting but socially oriented groups."
Now, I'm a little too much of a risk-taker for my husband and son, who would rather be run over by a steamroller than call people you don't know to get them to vote. And I admit, I've always loved it when my adrenaline is pumping.
But I've never wanted to hurt anyone or be violent. I'm in despair about our country and what we are going through rightnow. I don't like or trust this president and I'm very afraid of what other lunatics are out there, and will be inspired to act, listening to his hateful rhetoric.
I pray that somehow we are able to right ourselves, and our place in the world, on Nov. 6.
VOTE!!!!!!
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