Toward a Greater Understanding of the Impact of Anger on Attitudes Toward War: A Consideration of Three Hypotheses

Previous research indicates that emotion is an important factor in shaping attitudes towards war. Specifically, studies have shown that the experience of anger leads to increased support for war. However, little is known about the mechanisms and boundary conditions of the anger-war attitudes effect. In this dissertation, I propose three potential mechanisms: time perspective, changes in risk perception and preference, and cognitive control. Results indicated risk perception and preference and cognitive control were not related to either anger or war attitudes. The consideration of future consequences: CFC) scale, used to measure time perspective, revealed only weak effects as a mediator. However, there was much stronger evidence of its role as a moderator. In particular, participants\u27 position along the CFC scale--their tendency to exhibit or not exhibit a focus on the future--did determine the nature of the relationship between anger and war attitudes. People who focused on the present became more pro-war as their anger increased. Therefore, focusing on present or future consequences appears to be an important factor in war opinion formation. Implications of these results and ideas for future research are discussed