Conference Proceedings

2007 Social Psychology Section Annual Conference

Conference Venue: Department of Psychology, University of Kent
Social Psychology Section

From: 09 May 2007
To: 09 Jul 2007

 
Peer-Reviewed

The role of fear of terrorism and threatened identity in Islamophobic prejudice

Marco Cinnirella
Royal Holloway University of London


Two empirical studies are reported which investigate, using a theoretical model adapted from social identity theory, the attitudes of white British Christians towards British citizens of Muslim faith. In the first study, participants were exposed to one of three bogus newspaper articles, two of which were about the threat to the UK posed by Islamic terrorism (one suggesting high level of threat, one low), and one of which was about crime on university campuses (control group). Participants responded to the high threat condition with elevated levels of Islamophobic prejudice and greater support for hypothetical new immigration and policing policies targeted at Muslims. Level of British national identity was also shown to affect these attitudes. In the second study, a correlational survey design was employed, and demonstrated that level of media exposure and strength of British national identity both correlated with attitudes towards British Muslims. Implications for understanding public reactions to terrorism, and their role in the maintenance of Islamophobic prejudice are explored