Abstract
Perceiving oneself as having powerful enemies, although superficially disagreeable, may serve an important psychological function. On the basis of E. Becker's (1969) existential theorizing, the authors argue that people attribute exaggerated influence to enemies as a means of compensating for perceptions of reduced control over their environment. In Study 1, individuals dispositionally low in perceived control responded to a reminder of external hazards by attributing more influence to a personal enemy. In Study 2, a situational threat to control over external hazard strengthened participants' belief in the conspiratorial power of a political enemy. Examining moderators and outcomes of this process, Study 3 showed that participants were especially likely to attribute influence over life events to an enemy when the broader social system appeared disordered, and Study 4 showed that perceiving an ambiguously powerful enemy under conditions of control threat decreased perceptions of external risk and bolstered feelings of personal control.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 434-449 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |
Volume | 98 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2010 |
Keywords
- control
- enemyship
- existential psychology
- risk perception
- system belief
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology
- Sociology and Political Science