Threat, Politics, and Attitudes

Abstract

Social scientists have long known that threatening situations can have a powerful effect on sociopolitical attitudes. One of the more dramatic examples of this phenomenon is the “rally ’round the flag effect,” characterized by dramatic spikes in popularity of the American president. Previous models of rally effects have strongly emphasized the role of anxiety and the desire for security as explanations for these changes in support. In this article, we present a contrasting view, showing support for an anger-based conceptualization that builds upon earlier research on emotional appraisal. We discuss the relevance of our findings for theory and research across a variety of different paradigms in the social psychological and political science literature.