Influence of gendering and ethnicity on perceptions and stereotypes of a person accused of a terrorist act

ABSTRACT

The distinctive nature and complexity of judging terrorist acts include collective, political, and social dimensions that should be taken into account. The present study examines how participants from the general public in France perceived the perpetrator of a terrorist act, varying in ethnicity (North African vs. French) and gender (male vs. female). Based on a scenario describing an attempted terrorist attack and the offender, participants indicated their perceptions about the act and the perpetrator (content of stereotypes, emotions, behavioral responses, degree of agreement, perceived threat, severity of the sentence). The participants’ ideological orientation was also measured. Results revealed that participants judged the North African man more harshly than the other profiles. The impact of stereotypes on their judgments and perceptions was only partially observed. But generally, the presentation of a North African vs. a French offender seems to activate the effect of participants’ social dominance preferences on their judgments. In this study, the perception of individuals committing terrorist acts appears complex, and the results are discussed in relation to the existing literature.

KEYWORDS:

• Ethnicity
• gender
• perceptions
• social dominance
• stereotypes
• terrorism

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, CD, upon reasonable request.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. All the procedures were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Notes

1 Law no. 2015-1501 of November 20, 2015, extending the application of Law no. 55-385 of April 3, 1955, relating to the state of emergency and reinforcing the effectiveness of its provisions.

2 In addition, one question concerned attribution of religious affiliation (‘The perpetrator is a religious fundamentalist’). This item was analyzed in Dougez et al. (2022).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chloé Dougez

Chloé Dougez, PhD in Psychology and Clinical psychologist.

Anne Taillandier-Schmitt

Anne Taillandier-Schmitt, Lecturer HDR of Social Psychology.

Nicolas Combalbert

Nicolas Combalbert, PhD in clinical psychopathology and PhD in criminal law and criminal sciences. University professor / Judicial expert.