Abstract

Since the crusades, terrorism has been a form of violence used to promote some kind of agenda, whether political, social, religious or ideological (Martin 2018). With many different definitions of what constitutes terrorism, it is somewhat difficult to measure what exact impact terrorism has had globally. Attacks such as those on 9/11 in the United States and the Manchester bombings have been accepted worldwide as examples of acts of international terrorism. International terrorist attacks have lasting effects on both those directly affected as well as the larger community and beyond. Studies have shown that Americans are overly afraid of terrorism given their risk and want to put a complete and 'final' end to terrorism (Friedman 2011; Mueller 2005). Additionally, media outlets and politicians speak of threats and demand action which spreads fear and perceived risk (Bloch-Elkon 2011; Nellis and Savage 2012). This study seeks to contribute to the previous literature on people's fears regarding terrorism and how their emotions affect the desires to have action done regarding terrorist attacks. The current research uses a sample of 302 people to compare the levels of fear and the likelihood to want more action taken towards terrorism. The results from the statistical analysis show that fears and desire to seek action are shaped by many different variables. Gender was found to be the biggest predictor of higher levels of fear and political affiliation was determined to be the strongest predictor for desire to seek action.

Thesis Completion

2019

Semester

Spring

Thesis Chair/Advisor

Donley, Amy

Degree

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

Sociology

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Release Date

5-1-2019

Download

Share

COinS