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Psychological responses to jihadist terrorism: Exploring a small but significant opinion shift towards minority inclusion among French citizens in response to the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attacks

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posted on 2023-09-28, 13:29 authored by Adrian LuedersAdrian Lueders, Robin Wollast, Armelle Nugier, Serge Guimond

Experiences with jihadist terrorism sparked debates about the boundaries of religious expression within secular societies. Standpoints majority members hold in such discussions may be inclusive or exclusive towards religious minorities and inform wider intergroup perceptions. The present research explores these relationships in the context of the 2015 Charlie Hebdo terrorist attacks in Paris, France. Using longitudinal data from a diverse French sample (N=558) collected before and after the attacks, we test whether within-person changes in exclusionary and inclusionary interpretations of the French Laïcité principle can account for changes in public perceptions of context-relevant minorities. Meta-analytical findings suggest a small significant conservative shift after experiences with terrorism. Previous research conducted in the context of the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attacks departed from this pattern, however, without identifying underlying psychological mechanisms. Accordingly, the present data suggests a small but significant opinion shift in favor of context-relevant minorities. This shifting was partially explained through an increased endorsement of an inclusionary interpretation of the Laïcité principle that stresses the freedom of religious expression. We offer a contextualized interpretation of our data, suggesting that the collective coping dynamics that followed the events (i.e., republican marches, #JeSuisCharlie) have been critical for the observed effects.

Funding

Dynamic Attitude Fixing: A novel theory of opinion dynamics in social networks and its implications for computational propaganda in hybrid social networks (containing humans and bots)

European Research Council

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History

Publication

Political Psychology, 2023

Publisher

Wiley and Sons Ltd

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  • (3) Good Health and Well-being

Department or School

  • Psychology

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