The mask of zeal: Low implicit self-esteem, threat, and defensive extremism

Theorists have long proposed that vulnerable people turn to zeal in the face of perceived self-threats because doing so somehow masks the threats. The present study supports this idea, and suggests that low implicit self-esteem may be a key vulnerability, that predisposes individualy toward defensive zeal. Undergraduate participants with low implicit self-esteem, as assessed by an Internet version of the Implicit Association Test, reacted to an experimentally manipulated academic threat with zeal about their opinions toward capital punishment, the US invasion of Iraq, and suicide bombing. Significant effects were found for two aspects of zealextremism and exaggerated estimates of social consensus for personal opinions. Results for each issue were independent of whether participants were in favor of, or against the issue.