Deciding to support violence: An empirical examination of systematic decision-making, activism, and support for political violence

Abstract

This study examines how attitudes of activism and systematic decision-making are related to support for political violence. Using unique data from a randomly selected sample of undergraduate and graduate students ( N = 503), this study explores how activism, systematic decision-making, and political affiliation coincides with existing support for political violence. Among respondents, stronger support for activism and less systematic decision-making behavior was associated with support for political violence on one’s behalf. These results hold across models and suggest that in the United States, cognitive psychology and decision-making perspectives inform the decision to support political violence and in turn, should be considered in efforts to curb support for organizations which use political violence as a tactic.