000001976 001__ 1976
000001976 005__ 20240730133159.0
000001976 02470 $$2DOI$$a10.1037/vio0000476
000001976 02470 $$2Local$$alacasse2023
000001976 037__ $$aIR
000001976 041__ $$aeng
000001976 245__ $$aA Perpetrator by Any Other Name: Unpacking the Characterizations and Consequences of the "Terrorist", "Lone Wolf", and "Mass Shooter" Labels for Perpetrators of Mass Violence
000001976 269__ $$a2023
000001976 336__ $$aArticle
000001976 500__ $$aNote: This is the preprint version. The final published version of the article can be found here: Campbell-Obaid, M. & Lacasse, K. (2023). A perpetrator by any other name: Unpacking the characterizations and consequences of the “terrorist”, “lone wolf”, and “mass shooter” labels for perpetrators of mass violence. Psychology of Violence, 13(5), 425–435. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000476
000001976 520__ $$aObjective: To better understand the implications of applying different labels to perpetrators of mass violence.
Method: Two experiments (Study 1 N= 307 college students, Study 2 N= 696 community sample recruited through Prolific Academic) were conducted to examine U.S. public perceptions of “terrorist”, “lone wolf”, and “mass shooter” (only in Study 2) labels. In both studies, participants were randomly assigned to consider one of the terms and respond to prompts about the assumed demographic characteristics and traits of the perpetrator. In Study 2, participants also responded to prompts about the appropriate consequences for the perpetrator and the best policies to address violence committed by that type of perpetrator.
Results: Participants displayed much overlap in their characterizations and responses to the labels, but important distinctions emerged, particularly with the terrorist label. Across studies, the terrorist was perceived as more religious while lone wolf and mass shooter were perceived as more likely White and U.S. citizens. The terrorist was characterized by group and ideological characteristics and more highly associated with several demonizing traits, while the lone wolf and mass shooter were characterized as more depressed, sad, and lonely. The terrorist label evoked less support for mental health treatment, and more support for tracking associates of the perpetrator and increasing military involvement.
Conclusions: Awareness of the different associations evoked by perpetrator labels will help to avoid biases in their application and can shape how mass violence and its consequences are conceptualized by the public.
000001976 6531_ $$aMass violence
000001976 6531_ $$alone wolf
000001976 6531_ $$amass shooter
000001976 6531_ $$aperpetrators
000001976 6531_ $$aTerrorism
000001976 6531_ $$aMass shootings
000001976 7001_ $$aLacasse, Katherine
000001976 7001_ $$aCampbell-Obaid, Maggie
000001976 773__ $$tFaculty Publications
000001976 8564_ $$99176f04e-862d-45e6-a82a-dcb4928ef251$$s602016$$uhttps://digitalcollections.ric.edu/record/1976/files/Campbell_Obaid___Lacasse__2023__A_perpetrator_by_any_other_name___Terrorist_vs_lone_wolf_labels.pdf
000001976 982__ $$aFaculty/Staff Scholarship