Conceptualizing and Measuring Support for Collective Violence

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new scale to measure beliefs about collective violence, showing that people's support depends on who the violence targets, not how intense it is.

Contribution

A novel two-dimensional scale for measuring collective violence beliefs based on target rather than intensity.

Findings

Support for collective violence is structured by the target, not the intensity of the act.

The Two-Dimensional Collective Violence Beliefs Scale (CVBS: 2D) distinguishes between violence against outgroup members and outgroup leaders.

The scale was validated across multiple contexts in Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey.

Abstract

Although collective violence remains a pervasive issue affecting many societies today, the specific psychological mechanisms underlying individual differences in support for collective violence are relatively understudied. In four studies, using five samples from Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey (total N = 3758), we conceptualize and develop a new multidimensional scale for measuring individual differences in collective violence beliefs. Contrary to some prior theorizing and extant research on interpersonal violence, we found that people's justifications for collective violence are structured based on the target of the act rather than the intensity of the violent act. Consequently, we developed and validated a Two‐Dimensional Collective Violence Beliefs Scale (CVBS: 2D) that distinguishes between violence targeted at outgroup members, referred to as diffuse collective violence, and violence targeted at outgroup leaders, which we term upward collective violence. We validate this novel scale in multiple contexts and discuss the implications of the two dimensions of collective violence revealed in this study.

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