U of Ariz Study Suggests People Reminded of 9/11 Support Bush

[On the Road]

Worried about another Sept. 11-style attack?

Then you might need a little George W. Bush in your life, a new University of Arizona study suggests.

As part of a study of times of trouble, UA psychological researcher Mark Landau found that, when reminded about Sept. 11 and mortality, people wanted Bush as their leader and not John Kerry.

Further, the more someone thought about Sept. 11 or their own mortality, the more prone they were to support President Bush. "The strength (of the responses) was ridiculous," said Landau, who plans to vote for John Kerry. "These effects were found regardless of a person's political orientation."

The results from Landau's study dovetail with a recent Arizona Republic poll, which found that a majority of Arizonans surveyed felt more comfortable with the president when it came to domestic policies. Three previous academic studies seemed to confirm the UA doctoral student's findings: In times of trouble, people gravitate to charismatic leaders. It also reinforced the Bush campaign's strategy of using Sept. 11 and war-on-terror imagery in the campaign.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0812psychstudy12.html

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The pyschological principle behind the gross overplaying of Sep 11 and terrorism.

[MrBenchley]

1. Unless someone mentions My Pet Goat

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. Easy to understand...

I think most Americans have issues around self esteem (actually issues around all sorts of things). Insecurity is a chronic issue with them....so it is easy to play the FEAR card with them. All that our genius misleader * (or more appropritely, Rover) figured out is the effectiveness of this card - hence 911....911....Terra.....Terra....Fear.

Lemmings. Sheep. Pathetic..

[salvorhardin]

3. So...

...when reminded about Sept. 11 and mortality, people wanted Bush as their leader and not John Kerry.

So... Bush would be the leader of choice when it comes to fear and death and John Kerry would the leader of choice when it comes to hope and life?

[Lex]

4. Then that's where Kerry needs to hit Bush--on being asleep at the wheel

prior to 9/11.

Kerry should work to make people remember that Bush was OFF the entire month of August 2001 and also about that PDB he ignored.

[meti57b]

5. the connection: bush and 9/11 are both a major disaster.

[aquart]

6. Funny how it doesn't work in NYC.

[On the Road]

8. Maybe NYers are More Immune to Feeling Threatened

you have to develop an attitude if you live in the city.

[RamboLiberal]

7. I think idiots who vote for * cause they allow him to scare

them with TERROR, TERROR, TERROR, 9-11, 9-11, 9-11, etc are "Girly-Men".

Geesh, you have a greater chance of dying of a disease that could've been cured if "Chosen by God" allowed stem cell research than at the hands of a terrorist.

[Morning Dew]

9. That's great - If you're afraid of the terrorists, you're a girly-man !

No fear - love and hope beats fear - VOTE KERRY !

[On the Road]

11. This is What I Don't Get

Having spent some time in inner cities and moderately dangerous situations, all the hand-wringing about terrorism strikes me as very "girlie-man" behavior. You evaluate the risk, accept it, and suck it up. Geez!

[freestyle]

10. Scared of dying so make life a bitch WTF?

If I were worried about terrorism, why would I want someone in office who will also make me worry about my job, health care, and even the air I breath? Fear really does make people irrational, and much easier to control. That is all the Bush junta has to sell. Don't let people buy it. Fear is no way to live.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

12. Check out this blatantly biased misrepresentation

Early in the article, the reporter Judd Slivka states:

As part of a study of times of trouble, UA psychological researcher Mark Landau found that, when reminded about Sept. 11 and mortality, people wanted Bush as their leader and not John Kerry.

but if you take the time to keep reading, the truth is revealed as something else:

Landau and eight researchers around the country found that when confronted with thoughts of Sept. 11 or mortality and given a choice of types of leaders, those studied most often chose Bush rather than an anonymous, less charismatic candidate.