Fear of Death Amplifies Retributive Justice Motivations and Encourages Political Violence

Terror management research indicates that mortality salience (MS) increases support for violent solutions to conflict. The current research examines, in 4 experimental studies, whether this effect is primarily affected by rational considerations of costs of benefits, or whether a retributive justice mindset overrides a utilitarian calculus. In Study 1, justice primes increased, and utility primes decreased Palestinian citizens of Israel's support for violence when death was salient. Study 2 replicated this effect replacing the generic death prime with a reminder of the Nakba (Palestinian catastrophe). In Studies 3 and 4, MS increased support for military reprisals when justice concerns were high and expected utility was low among both Israelis and South Koreans. These results from 3 distinct cultural samples underscore the role of existential concerns in fostering support for violent solutions to conflict because of the perceived justice of violence, even when such violent policies are low in pragmatic utility.