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Desecration of national symbols is a recurring societal phenomenon that can lead to highly defensive reactions from some citizens, especially on the part of those expressing a strong attachment to the nation. In this paper, we investigated the effects of blind and constructive patriotism when faced with an ingroup (vs. outgroup) national flag burning on ingroup bias, taking into consideration the mediating role of perceived threat. In two studies (N = 252), the level of blind patriotism predicted stronger ingroup bias-due to more negative evaluation of visible minorities and/or more positive evaluation of the ingroup-when another ingroup member burnt an ingroup (vs. outgroup) flag. This effect was partly mediated by a greater threat to the group's image perceived by blindly patriotic people when the ingroup (vs. outgroup) flag was burnt (Study 2). Study 2 also highlighted a main effect of the symbol: ingroup bias was stronger when the ingroup (vs. outgroup) flag was burnt. We discuss the implications of our findings with respect to the role played by modes of national attachment and the consequences of desecrating symbols., Author(s): Gaëlle Marinthe [sup.2] [sup.1] , Benoit Testé [sup.2] , Rodolphe Kamiejski [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.433893.6, 0000 0001 2184 0541, Department of Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and [...]

Defenders of duties of justice to compatriots sometimes criticize the aspirations of cosmopolitans to develop accounts of justice that are global in scope. The criticisms are many and varied, including [...]

In the week before the 2003 American attack on Iraq, the effects of authoritarianism and the social dominance orientation on support for the attack were examined. Based on prior research on the nature of these constructs, a structural model was developed and tested. As predicted, authoritarianism strengthened support for the attack by intensifying the perception that Iraq threatened America. Social dominance increased support by reducing concern for the likely human costs of the war. Both also increased blind patriotism, which in turn reduced concern for the war's human costs and was reciprocally related to the belief that Iraq threatened America. Keywords: authoritarianism; social dominance; patriotism; war; threat