European Institute, Bilgi University, Istanbul, Turkey.
LPS, Aix Marseille Univ, Aix-en-Provence, France.
Aggress Behav. 2019 Nov;45(6):691-703. doi: 10.1002/ab.21863. Epub 2019 Aug 26.
Psychological research suggests that violent extremism (e.g., terrorism) stems partly from existential motives, such as individuals' need to achieve significance in life after experiencing failure, ostracism, or humiliation (Significance Quest Theory; SQT). Parallel investigations from sociology and criminology established similar findings by linking anomia-a syndrome including feelings of meaninglessness, powerlessness, isolation, self-estrangement, and normlessness-with violent behavior. In line with SQT, this contribution tested if anomia could mediate Loss of Significance effects on violent extremism. Accordingly, three studies conducted in France highlight indirect effects of exposure to discrimination on legitimation of political violence (Study 1, cross-sectional, minority population sample, N = 110), violent behavioral intentions (Study 2, experimental, undergraduate sample, N = 249), and support for ISIS fighters (Study 3, experimental, undergraduate sample, N = 221) through anomia. A subsequent study shows this indirect effect to be robust when controlled for Social Dominance Orientation and Political Extremism (Study 4, cross-sectional, undergraduate sample, N = 279). A final investigation re-analyzing data collected in Turkey highlights a reverse effect when the independent variable tapped into social inclusion (rather than exclusion; Study 5, cross-sectional, undergraduate sample, N = 321). This indirect effect was also robust to Political Extremism and Intolerance as control variables. These results support the usefulness of considering anomia as a proximal predictor of violent extremism in a SQT perspective.
心理学研究表明，暴力极端主义（例如，恐怖主义）部分源于存在动机，例如个人在经历失败、被排斥或羞辱后在生活中实现意义的需要（意义寻求理论；SQT）。社会学和犯罪学的平行研究通过将失范——包括无意义感、无力感、孤立感、自我疏远感和无规范感——与暴力行为联系起来，得出了类似的发现。与 SQT 一致，本研究通过检验失范是否可以在意义丧失对暴力极端主义的影响中起中介作用来检验这一理论。因此，在法国进行的三项研究强调了歧视暴露对政治暴力合法化（研究 1，横断面，少数人群样本，N=110）、暴力行为意图（研究 2，实验，本科生样本，N=249）和支持 ISIS 战士（研究 3，实验，本科生样本，N=221）的间接影响是通过失范产生的。随后的一项研究表明，当控制社会支配倾向和政治极端主义时，这种间接效应是稳健的（研究 4，横断面，本科生样本，N=279）。最后一项在土耳其收集数据的调查突出了当自变量涉及社会包容（而不是排斥）时出现的反向效应（研究 5，横断面，本科生样本，N=321）。当将政治极端主义和不容忍作为控制变量时，这种间接效应也是稳健的。这些结果支持了从 SQT 角度出发，将失范视为暴力极端主义的近端预测指标的有用性。
