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Short-Term Effects of Terrorist Attacks on Individual Core Values

Sun, May 27, 12:30 to 13:45, Hilton Prague, Floor: LL, Congress Hall II - Exhibit Hall/Posters

Abstract

Terrorism arouses strong emotions, from fear, to sympathy, to anger (Lin & Margolin, 2014; Lin, Margolin & Wen, 2017). The aftermath of attacks are thus unique periods where people’s values may temporarily be shaken. Moreover, social media now offer a platform where such immediate reactions can be observed.
We study this phenomenon in the context of the 2015 Paris attacks. We examine the tweets of French opinion leaders on the French ideal of Laïcité, France’s policy and stance toward immigration and religion, in the immediate and medium-term aftermath of the attacks. We then compare these tweets to public statements these leaders made about Laïcité prior to the attack. We focus on the values they express when defining and explaining the meaning of Laïcité. We code their statements using Schwartz’s (2008) system of values. Preliminary results indicate that terrorist attacks shift the articulation of values toward benevolence and away from conformity, with these shifts dissipating over time.

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