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Inner Terror and Outward Hate: The Effects of Mortality Salience on Bias Motivated Attacks

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Emotion and the Law

Part of the book series: Nebraska Symposium on Motivation ((NSM,volume 56))

Abstract

In 2008, a year that an African American man was elected President of the United States, and same sex unions were temporarily legalized in California and recognized in New York, reminders of intolerance and prejudice remained strong. Immediately following the election of Barack Obama, there was a surge in bias motivated attacks across the country, with derogating and intimidating remarks delivered by adults and even children as young as second-graders (Associated Press 2008). Further, shortly after the same sex unions were legalized in California, a majority of California voters supported “Proposition 8,” restricting the definition of marriage to that of a union between a man and a woman. In addition, during the previous year, nooses were displayed in various locations throughout the country such as on school grounds in Jena, Louisiana and on college campuses including the University of Maryland and Columbia University (Associated Press 2007). In addition, on February 12, 2008, in Oxnard California, an eighth-grader, 15-year old Lawrence King, was shot in the head and killed by a fellow student, 14-year old, Brandon McInerney. Apparently King, who often dressed in a feminine manner, had asked McInerney to be his valentine the day earlier (Newsweek 2008). These types of bias motivated attacks as well as others that have previously captured the nation’s attention reveal the darker side of humanity. Although basic cognitive processes that cause individuals to classify others as either ingroup or outgroup members are likely relevant in such attacks, basic categorization on its own may not be sufficient to unleash the anger that is sometimes apparent in hate crimes, such as that of the King murder. As a result, these crimes require additional psychological explanations to help us more clearly understand the underlying motivations that produce such behaviors. This chapter will explore a variety of social psychological theories that have been used to explain prejudicial attitudes and behavior that foster bias motivated crimes, with a particular focus on Terror Management Theory.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For example, New York has a fairly comprehensive hate crime law that states “1. A person commits a hate crime when he or she commits a specified offense and either: (a) intentionally selects the person against whom the offense is committed or intended to be committed in whole or in substantial part because of a belief or perception regarding the race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation of a person, regardless of whether the belief or perception is correct, or (b) intentionally commits the act or acts constituting the offense in whole or in substantial part because of a belief or perception regarding the race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation of a person, regardless of whether the belief or perception is correct. 2. Proof of race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation of the defendant, the victim or of both the defendant and the victim does not, by itself, constitute legally sufficient evidence satisfying the people’s burden under paragraph (a) or (b) of subdivision one of this section.” (Retrieved from http://criminaljustice.state.ny.us/legalservices/ch107_hate_crimes_2000.htm December 17, 2008).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV, USA

    Joel D. Lieberman

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  1. Joel D. Lieberman
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Correspondence to Joel D. Lieberman .

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  1. Dept. Psychology, University of Nebraska, Burnett Hall 335, Lincoln, 68588-0308, Nebraska, USA

    Brian H. Bornstein

  2. , Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska/Lincoln, Burnett Hall 338, Lincoln, 68588-9296, Nebraska, USA

    Richard L. Wiener

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Lieberman, J.D. (2009). Inner Terror and Outward Hate: The Effects of Mortality Salience on Bias Motivated Attacks. In: Bornstein, B., Wiener, R. (eds) Emotion and the Law. Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, vol 56. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0696-0_5

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