Honors Theses
Date of Award
2017
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Political Science
First Advisor
Matthew DiGiuseppe
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between terrorist activity and public support for gun control. This thesis tests three hypotheses: 1) that out-group violence causes greater support for gun control than in-group violence, 2) that the method of violence determines support for gun control, and 3) that the results of the first two hypotheses are dependent on the conditional variables of gender, fear of Muslims, and residence in an urban or rural area. To analyze these relationships, a survey experiment was conducted to determine if out-group violence and method of violence had an affect on public support for gun control. The results of this study showed no significant increased support for gun control when violence was perpetrated by an out-group member, and the method of violence also appeared to have no affect in the general population. However, when these relationships were analyzed across conditional variables, certain characteristics, especially gender, had an affect of gun policy opinions and other security preferences. This study concludes that although no generalizable results were found in this analysis, there is much room for greater exploration of the topic along other conditional variables.
Recommended Citation
McKee, Emily, "The Effects of Terrorism on Public Opinion of Gun Control in the United States" (2017). Honors Theses. 309.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/309
Accessibility Status
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