ABSTRACT
N ational crisis and threat, such as the September 11, 2001 terroristattacks on New York City and Washington, DC, often lead to anincreased focus on national identity and renewed attachment to the nation (Citrin, Reingold, & Green, 1990; Jaret, 1999; Kosterman & Feshbach, 1989; Worchel & Coutant, 1997). At the same time, conditions of threat increase the salience of the psychological boundaries between people perceived as members of the ingroup versus members of outgroups, and narrow the psychological boundaries defining the national ingroup (Greenberg, Solomon, & Pyszczynski, 1997; Rothgerber, 1997). As a consequence, there is
a decreased acceptance of “foreigners” (Citrin et al., 1990; Esses, Dovidio, & Hodson, 2002; Jaret, 1999; Stephan & Stephan, 2000).
