Terrorism, Perceived Threat, and Support for Surveillance: A Virtual Reality Experiment on Cyber vs. Conventional Terrorism

Keren L. G. Snider (), Amit Cohen, Giulia Dal Bello, Guy Baratz, Béatrice S. Hasler and Daphna Canetti
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Keren L. G. Snider: Department of Politics & Communication, Jerusalem Multidisciplinary College (JMC), Jerusalem 9101001, Israel
Amit Cohen: School of Political Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel
Giulia Dal Bello: School of Political Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel
Guy Baratz: Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
Béatrice S. Hasler: Department of Information Systems, Business School, University of Liechtenstein, 9490 Vaduz, Liechtenstein
Daphna Canetti: School of Political Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 11, 1-22

Abstract: Governments worldwide are increasingly adopting intrusive surveillance measures to counter terrorism. However, the psychological and public health consequences of exposure to terrorism remain underexplored. This study examines how exposure to cyber and conventional terrorism affects perceived national threat and support for surveillance policies, using a controlled virtual reality experiment in which participants were immersed in realistic simulations of lethal terror attacks targeting critical railway infrastructure in Israel. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: cyber ( N = 59), conventional ( N = 59), or control ( N = 45). Outcomes were standardized, but the framing differed by type of attack. Findings show that perceived national threat perceptions are a key mechanism linking exposure to terrorism to surveillance attitudes. At lower threat levels, participants differentiated between cyber and conventional attacks. In contrast, heightened threats led to uniform support for expansive surveillance regardless of the attack modality. Results demonstrate that exposure to terrorism, including cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, can activate psychological responses with implications for public resilience and policy attitudes, shaping preferences concerning privacy and security. These findings underscore the broader societal and public health relevance of understanding how people react to evolving security threats that disrupt essential systems such as transportation, energy, and healthcare.

Keywords: exposure to terrorism; cyberattacks; mental health; psychological distress; threat perception; surveillance policy; critical infrastructure; virtual reality experiment; resilience (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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