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Not-So-Free Speech: Support for Violent Protests Across the Political Divide
by Grace Metz
Faculty Advisor: William B. Swann, Jr., PhD
Intergroup violence is a frequent occurrence in society. That college campuses have recently been the site of numerous violent protests is indicative of a growing need to further our knowledge of what leads to violent group behavior. According to the theory of identity fusion, ‘fused’ individuals, who’s personal identities have become deeply immersed in their group and or cause, are more likely to engage in radical behavior on behalf of the group. In addition, radicalism and violent intentions have been found to increase with exposure to homogenous online extremist groups. Little to no research has been conducted on the effect of perceived group consensus, that is, the belief that members of one’s group agree and support a course of action, on endorsement of violent extremism. Furthermore, political ideology has yet to be explored as a factor that influences radical group behavior. This study seeks to fill this gap through examining the effects of perceived group consensus, identity fusion with a group and cause, and political orientation on the support of violent protest behavior, as well as individual intentions to participate in violent protests. An online survey was completed by 468 participants who self-identified as either Republican or Democrat. Our data yielded interesting results for the variable of political orientation. Republicans who were strongly fused to their political party were more likely to support violent protests after viewing the consensus manipulation and less likely to give their support if they were in the no consensus condition. Weakly fused Democrats reported greater support for violent protests when shown the consensus manipulation than strongly fused Democrats. Democrats and Republicans both showed an increased support for violent protests if they were highly fused with their respective causes; however, this effect was significantly stronger for Democrats.