| Popis: |
Political repression is a ubiquitous phenomenon; yet how it affects human psychology is not well understood. We examined whether repression deters citizens from engaging in antigovernment behavior (its intended goal), or in fact motivates it. Analyses of 101 nationally representative samples from three continents (N = 139,266) revealed a positive association between perceived levels of repression and intentions to engage in antigovernment violence. Additional analyses of fine-grained data from three countries characterized by widespread repression and antigovernment violence (N = 2,960) identified a positive association between personal experience with repression and intentions to engage in antigovernment violence. Randomized experiments revealed that memories about repression also motivate participation in antigovernment violence. These results suggest that political repression, aside from being normatively abhorrent, creates psychological conditions for political violence. |
