Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Moral Disengagement in “War Fever”: How Can We Resist?

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Handbook of International Negotiation

Abstract

This chapter reviews selected research on social psychological factors underlying the phenomenon of “war fever,” which is defined as dangerous ways of thinking that justify the unnecessary use of military force, evade responsibility, minimize perceived consequences, and dehumanize enemies, leading to popular support for national actions that are later regretted. Data from several studies show that the construct of moral disengagement, from social cognitive theory, explains both differences between populations and changes over time in their support for attacks on other nations, e.g., the increased support for military actions against Iraq by US forces following the September 11, 2001, terror attack there. Data from two studies show that persuasive communication about moral disengagement can provide psychological “inoculation” to induce resistance to war fever. Illustrations of how moral disengagement was lessened in the crisis surrounding proposed attacks by Western nations against Syria in 2013 are presented, followed by recommendations for future research and for systematic training of leaders in the fields of negotiation and reconciliation to help national populations resist war fever in the future.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adams, G. (1982). The politics of defense contracting: The iron triangle. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1991). Social cognitive theory of moral thought and action. In J. L. Gewirtz & W. M. Kurtines (Eds.), Handbook of moral behavior and development (Vol. I, pp. 45–103). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1992). Social cognitive theory of social referencing. In S. Feinman (Ed.), Social referencing and the social construction of reality in infancy (pp. 175–208). New York: Plenum.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1999). Moral disengagement in the perpetration of inhumanities. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 3(3), 193–209.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (2001). Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 52(1), 1–26.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (2004). The role of selective moral disengagement in terrorism and counterterrorism. In F. M. Mogahaddam & A. J. Marsella (Eds.), Understanding terrorism: Psychological roots, consequences and interventions (pp. 121–150). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A., Underwood, B., & Fromson, M. E. (1975). Disinhibition of aggression through diffusion of responsibility and dehumanization of victims. Journal of Research in Personality, 9(4), 253–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barstow, D. (2008). Behind TV analysts, Pentagon’s hidden hand. New York Times. April 20, 2008 (Online)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonn, S. A. (2010). Mass deception: Moral panic and the US war on Iraq. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Dineen, J., Endresen, K., Beaman, A. L., & Fraser, S. C. (1975). Effects of altered responsibility, cognitive set, and modeling on physical aggression and deindividuation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31(2), 328.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Drury, A. C., Overby, L. M., Ang, A., & Li, Y. (2010). “Pretty prudent” or rhetorically responsive? The American public’s support for military action. Political Research Quarterly, 63(1), 83–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, T. J., & Rule, B. G. (1983). An attributional perspective on anger and aggression. In R. G. Geen & E. I. Donnerstein (Eds.), Aggression: Theoretical and empirical (1st ed., pp. 41–74). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fung, K. (2013). Charlie Rose interviews Syria’s Bashar al-Assad in Damascus. Huffington Post. September 8, 2013 (Online).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghobarah, H. A., Huth, P., & Russett, B. (2004). The post-war public health effects of civil conflict. Social Science & Medicine, 59(4), 869–884.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grussendorf, J., McAlister, A., Sandstrom, P., Udd, L., & Morrison, T. C. (2002). Resisting moral disengagement in support for war: Use of the “peace test” scale among student groups in 21 nations. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 8(1), 73–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haritos-Fatouros, M. (2002). The psychological origins of institutionalized torture. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harkinson, J. (2004, June 3). Fever pitch. Houston Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hersch, S. M. (2013). Whose Sarin? London Review of Books, 35(24), 9–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman, A. M., Agnew, C. R., VanderDrift, L. E., & Kulzick, R. (2013). Norms, diplomatic alternatives, and the social psychology of war support. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 0022002713498706.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howard, B. H., Shegog, R., Grussendorf, J., Benjamins, L. J., Stelzig, D., & McAlister, A. L. (2007). Www. PeaceTest. org: Development, implementation, and evaluation of a web-based war-prevention program in a time of war. Journal of Peace Research, 44(5), 559–571.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, N. (2008). Health consequences of war and political violence. In L. Kurtz (Ed.), Encyclopedia of violence, peace, & conflict (2nd ed., pp. 923–933). Oxford: Academic Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Ivie, R. L. (1980). Images of savagery in American justifications for war. Communications Monographs, 47(4), 279–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jhaveri, N. J. (2004). Petroimperialism: US oil interests and the Iraq war. Antipode, 36(1), 2–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keen, S. (1986). Faces of the enemy: Reflections of the hostile imagination. San Francisco, CA: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kellner, D. (2002). September 11, the media, and war fever. Television and New Media, 3, 143–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelman, H. C. (1973). Violence without moral restraint: Reflections on the dehumanization of victims and victimizers. Journal of Social Issues, 29(4), 25–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelman, H. C., & Hamilton, V. L. (1989). Crimes of obedience: Toward a social psychology of authority and responsibility. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kramer, M. (1990). The moral logic of Hezbollah. Origins of terrorism: Psychologies, ideologies, theologies, states of mind (pp. 131–157). Cambridge, MA: University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, Q., & Wen, M. (2005). The immediate and lingering effects of armed conflict on adult mortality: A time-series cross-national analysis. Journal of Peace Research, 42(4), 471–492.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liebkind, K., & McAlister, A. L. (1999). Extended contact through peer modeling to promote tolerance in Finland. European Journal of Social Psychology, 29(5–6), 765–780.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lutz, W. D. (1987). Language, appearance, and reality: Doublespeak in 1984. In P. C. Boardman (Ed.), The legacy of language – a tribute to Charlton Laird. Reno, NV: University of Nevada Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Madžarac, Z., Barić, A., Abdović, S., & Marić, Ž. (2003). Peace testž: Is war sometimes a better solution? Survey of students of Zagreb and Mostar schools of medicine. Croatian Medical Journal, 44, 36–40.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Malley-Morrison, K., McCarthy, S., & Hines, D. A. (2013). International handbook of war, torture, and terrorism. New York: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • McAlister, A. L., Ama, E., Barroso, C., Peters, R. J., & Kelder, S. (2000). Promoting tolerance and moral engagement through peer modeling. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 6(4), 363.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McAlister, A. L., Bandura, A., & Owen, S. V. (2006). Mechanisms of moral disengagement in support of military force: The impact of Sept. 11. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 25(2), 141–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McAlister, A., Campbell, T., & Murtagh, E. (2013). Patterns in the justification of invasion and responses to attack. International handbook of war, torture, and terrorism (pp. 507–518). Berlin Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mcalister, A. L., Perry, C., & Maccoby, N. (1979). Adolescent smoking: Onset and prevention. Pediatrics, 63(4), 650–658.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McAlister, A. (2001). Moral disengagement: Measurement and modification. Journal of Peace Research, 38(1), 87–99.

    Google Scholar 

  • McAlister, A. L., & Vélez, L. F. (1999). Behavioral sciences concepts in research on the prevention of violence. Revista Panamericana De Salud Pública, 5(4–5), 316–321.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McGuire, W. J. (1964). Inducing resistance to persuasion: Some contemporary approaches. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (pp. 192–227). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McHugo, G. J., Smith, C. A., & Lanzetta, J. T. (1982). The structure of self-reports of emotional responses to film segments. Motivation and Emotion, 6(4), 365–385.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milgram, S. (1974). Obedience to authority: An experimental view. New York: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mouritzen, H. (2006). Choosing sides in the European Iraq conflict: A test of new geopolitical theory. European Security, 15(2), 137–163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putin, V. (2013). A plea for caution from Russia. New York Times, p. 11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rapoport, D. C., & Alexander, Y. (Eds.). (1982). He morality of terrorism: Religious and secular justification. Elmsford, NY: Pergamon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rausch, D. L. (2012). Strategies for preparing United States combat organizations for the inevitability of casualties. Army Commandand General Staff Coll.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reich, W. (1990). Origins of terrorism: Psychologies, ideologies, theologies, states of mind. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, M. (2004). Framing the war against terrorism US newspaper editorials and military action in Afghanistan. Gazette, 66(5), 363–382.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sidel, L. (2008). War and public health (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singer, P. W. (2005). Outsourcing war. Foreign Affairs, 119–132.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, M. B. (2002). The metaphor (and fact) of war. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 8(3), 249–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stiglitz, J. (2008). The $3 trillion war. New Perspectives Quarterly, 25(2), 61–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suedfeld, P., & Epstein, Y. M. (1973). Attitudes, values, and ascription of responsibility: The Calley case. Journal of Social Issues, 29(4), 63–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, P. L. (2008). Sustaining the fight: A cross-sectional time-series analysis of public support for ongoing military interventions. Conflict Management and Peace Science, 25(2), 112–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tilker, H. A. (1970). Socially responsible behavior as a function of observer responsibility and victim feedback. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 14(2), 95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vance, L. (2013). Erasmus and Christianity and war. Retrieved 2013, from http://www.lewrockwell.com/2013/11/laurence-m-vance/christian-war-fever/.

  • World Health Organization. (2002). World report on violence and health. Geneva: World Health Organization.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimbardo, P. G. (2004). A situationist perspective on the psychology of evil: Understanding how good people are transformed into perpetrators. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zwi, A. B., Ugalde, A., & Richards, P. (2008). Health services, effects of war and political violence on. In L. Kurtz (Ed.), Encyclopedia of violence, peace, & conflict (2nd ed., pp. 933–943). Oxford: Academic Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Professor of Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas School of Public Health, Dallas, USA

    Alfred L. McAlister Ph.D.

  2. Doctoral Student, University of Pittsburgh, School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, USA

    Brittanie Wilczak M.P.H.

Authors
  1. Alfred L. McAlister Ph.D.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Brittanie Wilczak M.P.H.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alfred L. McAlister Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. EANAM European Association for Negotiation and Mediation, Brussels, Belgium

    Mauro Galluccio

Appendix: Measuring Moral Disengagement in Support of War

Appendix: Measuring Moral Disengagement in Support of War

This illustrates how we assess individual and group differences in levels of concepts in the construct of moral disengagement with printed questionnaires, telephone interviews, and online surveys. Answers are scored from 2 (strongly agree) to −2 (strongly disagree) with a midpoint of 0 (not sure). These scores are then summed and divided by the number of statements rated for that concept.

Please rate your agreement or disagreement with each of the following statements about why or when you will accept the use of your nation’s armed forces (Likert scale response set: strongly agree, agree, not sure, disagree, strongly disagree).

Moral Justification

  • War is necessary to settle conflicts between nations.

  • Military force is necessary when other nations threaten our economic security.

  • If another nation threatens our military security, it is right to attack them before they attack us.

Advantageous Comparison

  • Military force should be used when diplomacy and negotiation drag on without resolving conflict.

  • It is right to use military force because it can prevent more suffering than it causes.

  • Military actions my nation may take are not as bad as the much worse actions of other nations.

Minimization of Consequences with Euphemisms

  • Precision missile attacks and surgical bombings rarely harm civilians.

  • Those who sympathize with our enemies exaggerate the number of civilian casualties that result from military actions.

  • Some collateral damage is an acceptable part of a military operation.

Evasion of Responsibility

  • Nations that join a multinational defense force are not responsible for the actions of other members of the force.

  • When military decisions are made by a group, no single member should be held accountable for the group’s decisions.

  • Soldiers should not be held responsible for following their commanders’ orders.

Dehumanization

  • Terrorists deserve to be treated like animals.

  • In some nations, the leaders and their followers are no better than animals.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

McAlister, A.L., Wilczak, B. (2015). Moral Disengagement in “War Fever”: How Can We Resist?. In: Galluccio, M. (eds) Handbook of International Negotiation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10687-8_4

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation