Worth the risk? Terrorism-induced fear of flying
- David J. Weiss 1
- Richard S. John 2
- Heather Rosoff 2
- Thomas Baumert 3
- Mikel Buesa 3
- Javier González Gómez 3
- Aurelia Valiño 3
- Tal Shavit 4
- Mosi Rosenboim 5
- 1 California State University, United State
- 2 University of Southern California, United State
- 3 Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain
- 4 Open University, Israel
- 5 Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Sapir Academic College, Israel
ISSN: 1657-9267
Año de publicación: 2016
Volumen: 15
Número: 3
Tipo: Artículo
Otras publicaciones en: Universitas psychologica
Objetivos de desarrollo sostenible
Resumen
We conducted two bi-national experiments regarding emotional and behavioral responses to a terrorist plot against commercial flights, examining both feelings and projected action. The studies employed hypothetical scenarios in which terrorists attacked airplanes with shoulder-fired missiles as they were landing or taking off from an international airport. The scenarios were built around two factorially crossed manipulated variables, each with three levels: (1) government announcements or actions (2) social norm, expressed as variation in airline ticket sales. Each respondent read a questionnaire containing only one of the nine scenarios. Experiment 1 was conducted in Spain and California (n = 360, 50% female), Experiment 2 in Israel and California (n = 504, 50% female). In both studies, fear and flight plans were not differentially affected by governmental response or social norm. Women expressed more fear than men. Experiment 1 examined the purpose of the trip. Most respondents would not change a planned flight to attend a close friend’s wedding or important job interview, but a substantial number would postpone a vacation or drive to a different location. Experiment 2 featured escalating attacks. These yielded increased fear and more canceled trips. Within both studies, responses were similar across countries despite national differences in direct experience with terrorism.