Topics:

Summary, Speakers

Tuesday, June 18, 2002
11:45 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
Rayburn House Office Building, Capitol Hill
Washington, DC

This briefing was jointly sponsored by the Association Political Science Association (APSA), the American Psychological Association (APA), the American Sociological Association (ASA), and the Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA) in support of the Decade of Behavior themes of "safety," "health," and "democracy."

Summary:

 How has our world changed since the attacks on 9/11 and the anthrax incidents that followed so closely thereafter? Social scientists have found that Americans are less secure and more likely to spend time with their families, and that they feel vulnerable to biological terrorism but that perceived susceptibility can be ameliorated with education about how to minimize risk. They also have found that it is not only Americans who have changed: so, too, have attitudes towards the West among the Islamic public in the Middle East.

Speakers: 

[View speaker bios, photos, and presentations]

Dr. Michael Traugott, University of Michigan
"Six Months Later: American Attitudes and Beliefs Changed by 9/11"
(Communication Studies and Political Science)

Len Lecci, University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Dale Cohen, University of North Carolina at Wilmington
"Anthrax Fears: Determinants of Perceived Health Risks"
(Psychology)

Mansoor Moaddel, Eastern Michigan University
"The Impact of 9/11 on Value Orientations of the Islamic Public in Egypt"
(Sociology)

Moderator:

Dr. Howard J. Silver, Executive Director, Consortium of Social Science Associations

Policy Seminars home page