THE DETERMINANTS OF AUSTRALIANS ATTITUDES TOWARD THE GULF-WAR

Social identity theory was used to investigate the determinants of the current attitudes of 356 Australian (Melbournian) subjects toward die Gulf War. The dependent variables included a scale measuring belliger ence, a scale measuring perceived justification for the Gulf War, and a short scale measuring how extensively the outcome of the war was per ceived as an environmental issue. Independent variables included the c oncept ''Australia,'' measured by a semantic differential scale; conse rvatism and liberalism, measured by Kerlinger's (1984) Social Attitude s Scale; and gender. Multiple regression analysis provided some suppor t for social identity theory. Conservatism and liberalism, however, we re the strongest predictors of attitudes toward the war. Men expressed more support for the war than women did. Participants' conservatism a nd liberalism were predictive of how extensively they perceived the ou tcome of the war as an environmental issue.