Vulnerability and vigilance: threat awareness and perceived adversary intent moderate the impact of mortality salience on intergroup violence.

Three studies examined whether perceived adversary intent and personal vulnerability moderate the effects of mortality salience (MS) on violent solutions to conflict. In Study 1, following MS, Israeli participants read a description of de-escalating or escalating Iranian rhetoric. In Study 2, following MS, Israeli participants read about tensions with Iran and reflected on the personal ramifications of the conflict or on the content of the passage. In Study 3, Israeli participants with direct war exposure were compared to participants with no war exposure, and following MS, read a description of escalating or de-escalating Hezbollah rhetoric. Results revealed that MS increased support of violence under escalating conditions and low perceived vulnerability. However, for persons with direct war exposure, MS induced support of violence contingent on adversary rhetoric. Thus, direct experience with war leads to a more nuanced contingent response to existential threat not present among those without direct war experience.