Attitudes and reactions to nuclear weapons: responses to fear arousal
This study employed a pre-posttest design to investigate how degree of commitment to a preventive nuclear war strategy, and various demographic characteristics influence nuclear-war-related factors. Two hundred sixteen college students were assigned to one of four groups. Subjects in the first two groups completed the pretest, and waited three weeks before receiving the posttest. The posttest asked subjects in the first group to imagine and write about what might happen to them in the event of a major nuclear war, and re-administered the pretest research questions. Individuals in the second group responded to a fantasy on earthquakes, followed by the posttest. Subjects in the third group responded only to the nuclear was fantasy and theposttest, while those individuals in the fourth group were administered the posttest only. Subjects committed to a strategy considered their chance of death by nuclear war more likely after the nuclear-war fantasy than after the earthquake fantasy. Subjects uncommitted viewed their chance of death by nuclear was as less likely after the nuclear war fantasy than after the earthquake fantasy. This supports previous research indicating that cognitive strategies may be employed to reduce fear arousal. Women reported greater (a) chance of death by nuclear war, (b) nuclear anxiety, (c) nuclear concern, and (d) fear of the future than men. Subjects committed to a strategy expressed greater nuclear concern, greater nuclear anxiety, and employed less nuclear denial than those who were uncommitted.
- Research Organization:
- University of Southern California, Los Angeles (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 7157624
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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