Terrorism, Hate Crimes, and Other Forms of Mass Violence: Examining How the Public Labels Violence Through a Conjoint Experiment

Despite extensive research on terrorism, hate crimes, and mass violence, less is known about how the public perceives incidents that overlap these categories. Many attacks exhibit features that could fit multiple labels, yet public labeling remains underexplored. This study uses a survey-embedded conjoint experiment with 1,181 US adults to examine objective and subjective factors shaping perceptions of violent attacks as terrorism, hate crimes, or mass violence. Participants evaluated hypothetical scenarios varying by weapon type, target, casualties, perpetrator characteristics, and motive. Findings provide insight into public perceptions and inform strategies for reporting and addressing hate crimes and violent extremism.