About Article

This article provides a terror management theory perspective on the psychological factors that lead groups and individuals to endorse, promote, and engage in violent actions as part of political, ethnic, and religious conflicts. This perspective provides an empiricallybased, theoret ical ly-driven approach to understanding the ways in which ideological, nationalistic, and religious beliefs interact with historical events and concrete complaints to lead people to accept, condone, or participate in terrorist activities. Research provides convergent evidence suggesting that many of the same psychological factors are at work in the minds of people on opposing sides of such conflicts. This suggests that the factors driving people toward terrorism are the same as those which drive people toward extreme counterterrorism measures that often create substantial collateral damage which commonly helps terrorists grow broader support for their causes and increase recruitment. After describing processes that promote this cycle of violence, we discuss theory and research that suggests pathways through which violent responses to such conflicts can be discouraged.