Abstract

Since the attacks on September 11th, 2001, Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim sentiment have been persistent issues in the social construct of America. Whether it is media framing and stereotyping, or politicians creating angst among the public, Anti-Muslim sentiment is present. This issue has spread heavily into the heads of White Americans. The cultural difference, difference in religion or simply looking different has left much of our country feeling different towards Muslims since that September morning in 2001. This independent research study aims to investigate the link between Anti-Muslim sentiment and support for torture methods among White Americans.

I suggest that because of cultural differences and perceived threat that Muslims have on American national security, White Americans would support pain and suffering on Muslim individuals. Specifically, I hypothesize that by simply priming White Americans to think about Muslim’s, White Americans would support torture methods due to the perceived threat Muslim’s bring to national security because of 9/11. To test this, I created an original survey and used a Two Sample T-Test with Equal Variances to analyze my data. Ultimately, I found insignificant evidence to show that by simply priming respondents to think about Muslims, they would support torture methods.

Advisor

Coll, Joseph

Department

Political Science

Disciplines

American Politics | International Relations | Peace and Conflict Studies

Keywords

Public Opinion, Survey, Politics, Terrorism, Torture

Publication Date

2024

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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